R: Shut Down Social Media

Since its creation near the end of the last millennium, the Internet has been one of the most dynamic and influential forces on Earth. It has the ability to educate more people than ever before and connect us to people across the world. At the same time, it can destroy lives and spread false information and dangerous beliefs faster than ever before. Social media exemplifies the Internet's ability to do so. With about 2 billion users of some form of social media, it is undoubtedly a major influencer in the modern world. While churches, charities, and educational institutions can use this newfound form of communication to reach more people than ever before, so, too, can terrorists, white nationalists, and Russian hackers use it to divide and take advantage of the populace.

Is social media a net positive? Can it be used responsibly, or are its unsavory traits too dangerous to be allowed? Has social media brought us closer together, or has it destroyed the traditional norms of discussion and human interaction? Is it weird that the United Nations has a Snapchat and the Pope has a Twitter?