From Social Media Weakness, To Historical Strength
An Easter Message Like No Other — Cleaning Up That Mass | April 4, 2026
History
Education
Faith
A Love of History & Economics
The author has a deep, lifelong passion for history and economics — almost always in the middle of reading a book on one or both topics. This post grows out of that obsession, connecting the modern social media landscape to lessons stretching back centuries.
Social Media: A Tool or a Fire?
The Promise
Like fire used responsibly, social media can be an amazing boon — connecting people, spreading ideas, and enriching lives in countless ways.
The Danger
Also like fire, it can cause massive destruction. The author left Facebook in 2020, tired of true posts marked as lies and endless antagonizing comments designed to inflame and divide rather than inform.
News in Colonial Times: The Boston Massacre
1
March 5, 1770
Boston Massacre occurs. News spreads through Boston streets within one day.
2
March 12, 1770
Story appears in the Boston Gazette — one week later.
3
1–2 Weeks Later
News reaches New York and Philadelphia.
4
March 26, 1770
Event becomes propaganda with the "Bloody Massacre" prints — the colonial equivalent of going viral.
The Boston Tea Party spread similarly. In today's terms, these events "went viral" — but over days and weeks, not seconds.
The Anti-Social Media Trap
We follow groups sympathetic to our personal views to feel less isolated — to belong to something bigger than ourselves. It is a comfort many of us long for. It is also a trap.
We Want to Be Right, Not Truthful
With social media, we often wish to be told we are right rather than told the truth — especially on topics as old as the American Revolution itself.
Real Disagreement Is Productive
The author's most productive political discussions happen with a friend holding very different views — built on mutual respect, not social media poison.
Children Are Most at Risk
Depression, anxiety, loneliness, and ADHD all existed before — but never to epidemic levels. Social media and excessive screen time are the agreed-upon cause.
Growing Up in the 80s & 90s: A Different World
In the late 90s and early 2000s, kids spent far more time out with friends, learning about the world in social settings. School taught in large groups; friends taught in small ones. Together, that combination helped produce functioning adults unafraid of life's inevitable challenges.
"Gaming was also far more social in a physical sense. You went to a friend's house, sat on the same couch, argued over controllers, shared tips, and passed levels together. Today, many children play alone in their bedrooms, connected to hundreds or thousands of others online but rarely face-to-face."
Latchkey Kids & Early Work Ethic
Independence & Community
Many 80s and 90s kids were "latchkey" kids — parents at work when they got home, so they fended for themselves and spent time in groups with friends. This built both independence and community simultaneously.
Work Started Early
The author got his first job at age 9, cooking in his uncle's restaurant kitchen. From shoveling driveways to paper routes, early work built adaptability and resilience that many younger people today lack entirely.
The Cycle of Strength & Weakness
"Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times." — Geoff Michael Hopf
Social media has become the ultimate online video game — riddling children with anxiety, isolation, and social awkwardness far beyond normal. Many aspects of modern society are creating a cycle of isolation and sensitivity that leaves younger generations unprepared for the struggles ahead.
Ibn Khaldun: A 14th Century Warning
Who Was Ibn Khaldun?
A 14th century Arab historian (1332–1406), one of history's greatest social thinkers — and one of the earliest to identify the cycle of civilizational rise and decline.
His Warning
"Their children and offspring grow up too proud to look after themselves... Their group feeling and courage decrease in the next generations. Eventually group feeling is altogether destroyed."
The Timeless Pattern
Toughness of hard living gives way to comfort, comfort breeds pride, pride erodes group cohesion — a cycle Hopf echoed 600 years later and one visible throughout all of human history.
The Biblical Warning: Deuteronomy 8
"Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God... when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase... then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God... You may say to yourself, 'My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.' But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth..." — Deuteronomy 8:11–18
The Bible repeatedly warns of prosperity leading to pride, forgetfulness of God, and eventual decline. This cycle of trust leading to prosperity, followed by arrogance leading to decline, repeats again and again throughout scripture.
An Easter Closing: Romans 5:3–5
"We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." — Romans 5:3–5
1
Suffering
Life's inevitable hardships and trials
2
Perseverance
The strength built through endurance
3
Character
The person you become through struggle
4
Hope
The ultimate reward — for believers and non-believers alike
Whether or not you are a person of faith, the chain reaction is undeniable. For believers, it mirrors the story of the crucifixion and resurrection — suffering leading to hope like no other. Happy Easter.