Aaron Cox publié:

I recently had a discussion with my father about the effects of social media and online immersion. We attempted to discuss whether or not this truly was a turning point in human history; a medium which will alter the human condition forever. I felt hesitant to oblige to such a strong prediction.

As Steven Pinker mentioned in his book "The Better Angels of Our Nature",  the printing press and the resulting flurry of reading material, was interpreted at the time as a scourge within the younger populations. Young folks wandering around aimless, novel in hand, escaping reality; isolating themselves from their more concrete surroundings. Is it really much different? I think it is, but contextually, I'm not sure why. 

Aaron, I think you're right in that nothing is ever purely positive or negative.

Interestingly, a lot of the discussion around social media use come from a place of privilege. I often think about this tweet (and link) from the Pew Research Center:

"80% of blacks say social media highlight important issues that might not get a lot of attention otherwise; the same share of whites say these sites distract from more important issues https://pewrsr.ch/2zw872s"