Social Media & Post-Truth
I believe nothing speaks more to the state of society than the idea that everything else is to blame for our circumstances… except for us, that is. This discourse completely removes the human element from something that is at its foundation human: society. We built this world from the ground up, turning ideas into actions and evolving into an advanced (in many ways) world. So why are we always willingly blaming technology for any problems that arise? Commuters are not as sociable nowadays? It’s because of social media. Cyberbullying is still an issue? It’s because of social media. Now, I am not saying that technology has not had its impact on the world because if we’re speaking honestly, it’s completely changed how we function. What it doesn’t do, however, is change the motivation behind our actions. Commuters isolate themselves just as they did before, except the newspaper turned into a smartphone. Bullies hurt others just as they did before, except they are now hidden behind a screen.
Social media is not to blame for the creation or the growth in popularity of post-truth content. We have been subjective human beings for thousands of years, with our own beliefs, experiences, and perspectives. When it comes to persuasion, anything appealing to our emotions, our logic, and our character is going to have a greater effect than any objective fact. And that’s exactly what we do, right? We follow our hearts and attach ourselves to anything that touches us. All social media did was place everyone on one field and emphasize the degree of freedom to find content that strikes a chord with us. Our motivation still remains but now, the possibilities to reach a larger audience are endless.
“Post-truth” is gaining traction right now because mutually, as a society, we are tired of being deceived. We search for the truth and for answers that are not veiled with a sheet of white lies. Although this stems greatly from politics, its notions could be found in virtually every other public field, including film. Analyzing this years U.S. Election, a major reason Donald Trump was awarded the presidency was due to a tactic so simple and effective that virtually all politicians take part in it: discrediting the opposition. Hillary Clinton had been a strong but controversial candidate from the moment she announced her plans to run for presidency. Scandals including the infamous emails as well as a slew of others already placed distrust in the people, and the opposition knew this. It did not matter that she was cleared of all foul play (an objective fact), she lied to the public about this and many other things (the emotional component) and the damage was done. The opposition ran with this and forced the country to distrust anything else she said from that moment forward, and regardless of fact vs. emotion, they won. This is not the first time either in the span of a few short months that we have seen emotions and personal beliefs shape public opinion against objective facts. With the recent controversy surrounding animal abuse in the filming of A Dog’s Purpose, the majority of the public was stunned and horrified to see evidentiary footage and many are now boycotting its release. Despite reading the producer’s response about taking responsibility for some negligence and how the overall story was blown out of proportion, their side didn’t matter anymore. Once again, the damage is done. The people saw with their eyes and felt with their hearts, and you cannot take that emotional attachment away.
Collectively, we have to search for all content and take responsibility for the outcomes of our society. I understand wholeheartedly that we are tired of being lied to and manipulated, but we have to act as agencies of truth and reclaim power… social media isn’t going to do that all on its own.
