thank you for such an admirable contribution to the debate. I find it hard to argue with anything that you say.
Sadly, the ability to at least acknowledge opposing points of view without having to always accept them, seems less and less common. Without that, how will be ever reconcile the different factions in any conflict.
HNY to all and promotion to the Boro.
Selwynoz
@pedro - I think that social media can offer very real benefits. Family members living far apart can keep in touch if some live in the UK and others are in Spain, Australia or NZ for example. Photos and videos of infant children as they grow up can be shared and aged relatives can be checked on without the need to travel long distances with all the expense and time that would involve, so the world can be shrunk. My wife was showing me a video this morning of the property near Ullapool, clad as it is in snow that is deepening with every snowflake that lands (but also the news that the engineers who were going to instal a new hot water cylinder and/or a new boiler, can't get through AGAIN so a new date has to be set. Thank goodness for the massive log-burner!).
On the other hand, children at school who spend hours each day looking at the screen can't be improving their lives much by it. Social media must be a pretty-near perfect tool for bullying, for example, and people may live their lives according to the number of "likes" they receive, and feel miserable if the number diminishes. I know one person (because my wife has shown me that person's page on her phone) whose profile picture is so doctored that it's laughable and I can only assume that everyone who has ever met her in the flesh would be VERY surprised. It is like the difference between (a) the extreme and unreal profile of a Barbi doll and (b) any in-the-flesh young lady. I guess social media may be implicated in quite a percentage of mental health issues.