The nuclear bomb stands as one of humanity’s great wonders, reshaping our world in unprecedented ways. In a bygone era, sons were raised to defend their nations, and the battlefield held the highest honour for every child born. Countries allocated substantial budgets to defence, maintaining massive armies, and powerful nations harboured expansionist ideologies. This was a time when peace was an anomaly and war was a constant state. However, the advent of the nuclear bomb altered the course of history, transforming the purpose of life, nationhood, and global geopolitics.
In today’s reality, once formidable military powers like Germany and Japan might struggle to quell minor uprisings within their borders. Germany’s defence budget falls short of NATO’s mandated 2% of GDP.
The world now exhibits three economic tiers: nations indifferent to military budgets, those like the US, South Korea, Russia, and China investing heavily in both military and modern science, and countries like North Korea or Iran, which have isolated themselves in pursuit of military ambitions. While some argue that the era of war has passed, I firmly believe that the core policy of states will always involve some form of warfare. The landscape has shifted from military expansionism to asserting dominance, where economic warfare takes centre stage. Economic conflicts, such as Europe’s sanctions against Russia or the China-US trade war, define the current state of affairs. Yet, a new stage is emerging on the global scene—the age of social media. Referred to by geopolitical analysts as “fifth-generation warfare,” social media is likened to the new nuclear bomb. Though nuclear bombs and social media seem vastly different, intriguing comparisons arise in their societal impacts. Just as a nuclear bomb can devastate a large area, modern social media applications wield global influence, capable of altering opinions, spreading misinformation, shaping perspectives, and inciting social unrest. Both possess destructive capabilities, with concerns about proliferation. International agreements aimed at preventing the misuse of nuclear weapons find a parallel in the need for regulations on social media to curb hate speech, intolerance, and privacy breaches. The ethical questions raised by nuclear weapons find echoes in the realm of social media. Issues like privacy, misinformation, and potential harm to individuals and society are increasingly under scrutiny.
A 10-year study at Brigham Young University revealed the heightened risk of suicide among teenage girls who spent extensive time on social media. Mental health experts emphasise the adverse effects of social media on adolescents, including low self-esteem, addiction to explicit content, and suicidal tendencies. The rise of social media has been linked to a surge in adolescent depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rates. As the US Today reports, from 2007 to 2018, suicide rates among those aged 10-24 increased by nearly 60%. The quote, “You never get any product for free, And if you do get it, then make no mistake; you are the product.” encapsulates the reality of social media. Young adolescents often struggle to differentiate between social media content and real-life expectations, leading many to term it the new nuclear bomb. President Joe Biden, in a recent address to Congress, echoed concerns about social media’s impact on children, urging accountability from companies engaged in what he termed an “experiment” for profit. The parallels with past leaders addressing significant technological shifts, such as President Roosevelt and Harry Truman discussing Nazi military technology, are indeed striking.