The Age of Complete Distrust
I think I left believing in media a few months before “The Social Dilemma” hit Netflix. The Social Dilemma just amplified my fear and anxiety towards media in general and the power of Social Media. I am still trying to find out a point in time where it all went wrong but I do not think I would be able to pinpoint that. It has been a phase taking over us for a long time and now it is just visible. I remember so many conversations with my friends where we ended up realizing how different viewpoints we had on the same issue, even when both of us had an endless list of sources to emphasize. During one conversation (a quite heated one) on social media, one of my mentors said to me that I was watching only one kind of news, I am however so sure till now it wasn’t just me on that trap. The Social Dilemma mentions just that, nobody is getting content that is true or of different viewpoints, we are all receiving content that keeps us hooked on!
I do not intend to put all faults on social media, I have not just been a victim! A year before I was shunning people’s views which they shared through their posts or comments. We would often get into a series of wars trying to win in an argument on everything from politics to religion. But that is what has been happening, it is always easy to put your views across even if they are radical if you know nobody knows you and you would not be judged for it. That has worked out for anonymous authors writing in fear of the society or government and creating a revolution. But not every thought is worth a revolution and that is what we need to understand. In this world today we are not just putting out our thoughts to inspire someone, we are also bullying people online to believe in what we believe and that is a dangerous recipe for a revolution. I won’t be shy in admitting I have bullied others towards my thoughts and have been bullied into believing other people’s thoughts.
There is just too much information out there which should be good right but is it. Try this at home — If two people are arguing try to hear their side of their stories, then go deeper and find out more information from their friends. Go further deeper and find out as much information you can “ON BOTH SIDES” before judging or shunning one side. You will realize there is no one truth, there is no one right. Our views, our judgment depends on our values with which we have been brought up, on our environment, and the people we are surrounded with. No two people have the same views, but now imagine being surrounded with not one, two, or three but everyone’s view on everything.
Do you have a view on the right-wing politics in the world right now? Do you have a view on the representation of minorities in cinema? Do you have a view on Nepotism in Bollywood?
Yes, you do and it is out there on your social media, as is your friend, their friend, and so on. Everybody’s views are out there on social media and just like the old game of Chinese whispers, we all have ended up with a distorted truth because we know our friends believe in the same not because it is really true or not. Everything is a conspiracy and everything is wrong and it is fun believing in that because at the end of the day we are all curious creatures and we would go to any end to satisfy it.
Social Media isn’t evil, too much information definitely is! A concern is the overlapping of issues on top of one another. You were initially angry about land rights but your friend said they are angry about a murder, another group is angry at a policy they did not like! Where does it leave you, does it leave you with clarity to pursue your initial issue? No, you are more misdirected now, angry at everything that is happening. You don’t even know what started it all in a few whiles! And that is what is happening.
There is a larger concern to all of this. In an argument with your friend, you can sometimes reconcile with them. In issues that are political, you end up having an argument but you also understand where they come from, you eventually respect that and get over it. My dad is a politically vocal person, he has staunch views, and yet he till a while longer he used to have friends from all political parties. That trend has also changed, my dad and possibly his friends are now into a meme culture on WhatsApp where nobody replies, everybody is just angry with each other. That is the problem, we are constantly sharing information in the form of memes, news, etc but we hardly put out our full views on it. Have you ever said that to anybody I have shared this article but there are some points in it which brings doubt in my mind as well? No, our doubts are in our head but our radical part of the views is out there. Not just my or yours but everybody’s. We are living in a hotbed of radical views, not understanding the person within.
Everybody is “woke”, so much so that they do not want to listen to the other people, is that what woke being is? I laugh out at the fact that there are “Liberal Views” about the world right now which you are not meant to question. Is that what liberal means? In this, all while do you know what we as humans we have become? A reaction. We just react like a Facebook like button, that's all we are, and that’s all we care. Nobody cares about people anymore, people are either humorous, stupid, or likable based on their opinions on the internet. We are either the judge or the reaction, we are either a blogger shouting or a reaction to his video, there are no more personalities left within us.
And yet, I refuse to believe we cannot be better. A hopeless cause worth fighting for! If you know me already, I might have had views opposing you, but now I am not that. I want to understand where you are coming from, and yet I will not join a brigade of online movements. They might have brought immense success but behind the number of likes is a hollow movement of people who are confused like once I was. I’ll believe in helping people and not bullying them into believing what “might” be true. I hope you can join me!
