Our View: Social Media’s Consequences

There’s no escaping social media these days. It’s where controversies over the most trivial things break out and where our president announces both sweeping changes to government and vents his dyspeptic spleen. “Influencers” capture the attention of millions for reasons that, not being part of the digital generation, we find hard to comprehend.

 This week we report on two instances where social media is impacting folks locally. 

 First, someone assembled large trampolines among the fragile dunes at Chatham’s popular Harding’s Beach in an apparent attempt to draw some eyeballs to their social media. The “trampoline in the dunes” — actually two, both of which were eventually vandalized beyond use — became an attraction and yet escaped the notice of town officials for more than two months before a resident eventually got the information to the right people. People had clearly been partying around the trampoline, but there didn’t seem to be any lasting damage to the habitat. A number of town and state laws were violated, however, and town staff had to take the time to disassemble, cut apart and haul the trampolines to the transfer station. We’re still not sure the purpose of the exercise, except maybe to say “Look how sneaky we are” and “Isn’t it cool to jump on a trampoline in the dunes.” Yes, it’s cool, but it also risks damaging the dunes and any shorebirds that might be nesting nearby. There’s a reason for laws that protect a delicate environment like this so that it can be preserved for everyone to enjoy, and risking that for an Instagram reel is selfish and disrespectful.

 And then there’s Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy, who spent the past couple weeks or so “reviewing” local pizza restaurants for his “One Bite” video shorts. Apparently, these are pretty popular, garnering thousands of views on the web and social media. And even the pizzerias to which he gave tepid reviews (he created a special Cape Cod pizza scale because ratings using his usual one-to-10 scale were so low — in his view) were thrilled to be highlighted. Any publicity is good publicity, the saying goes, and that’s certainly the case here, as many of Portnoy’s snarky comments indicate a general condescension to some of our local establishments. But that’s how you get attention on social media.

 Social media has its place — we use it to get out breaking news and highlight stories — and it’s not going away. But it doesn’t necessarily bring out the best in people, and it's unfortunate that that can sometimes have unintended, negative consequences. It’s unfortunate that it’s become so much a part of our lives, whether we like it or not.