Social Media Is Inhibiting Real Life Action, And We’re Idiots For Letting it
What exactly is social media for?
To find the answer to this question, I believe you must truly be god like, alien perhaps. Why? Because really, if you think about it as a timeline, a growing entity… what are we doing? Why are we all so hooked on this interconnected web of nudes, memes, indirects and opinions? What is it all for?
At the beginning of said timeline, we may have the telephone and radio, but let’s fast forward past that and think of the makings of social media as we know it. We started with platforms like Bebo, MSN, Friendster and OG Facebook. Genuine platforms designed for continued interactions with your friends, after you were physically removed from each other. Where you didn’t all have to synchronise in a temporal-spatial manner to communicate. By friends, I must note, I mean the real ones, that you knew in real life… not celebrities that share so much of themselves (*cough* Kim K, actually just all the K’s) to you, that you feel like you know them.
Which leads me to social media now. I think the best way to define social media in its current form, is literally a meme. A product of social media, has become so established within its community that, in my opinion, it has become the very definition of social media today.
“A meme is a virally transmitted cultural symbol or social idea by means of imitation”
- Oxford Dictionary
It seems to be that every post made by a member of the Kardashians on social media, becomes a meme within 24 hours. Kim Kardashian gets platinum blonde extensions… so does every teenage girl. Kylie wears a corset over a t-shirt… all retail outlets begin stocking these actually unwearable monstrosities within a week.
We are a product of social media. The more we use it, and we are using it more, the more we become an imitation of each other, or at least those we can relate too.
Now, I wouldn’t say that we are idiots for this, it’s natural human condition. We yearn to be a part of a community, we yearn to have our emotions affirmed by others. It’s what makes us human.
The issue is, being connected to others globally, and observing the virality of these memes makes us think that online action and real-life action are the same thing.
Let’s say I tweet “Donald Trump should be impeached like yesterday”, and it gets retweeted a few thousand times from users all over the world (massive exaggeration, it would actually be more like 2). But just by doing this and getting this response, I would genuinely think that via social media, I have got us one step closer to his impeachment. I could wipe my hands, pat myself on the back and be happy that I did something about it. But I didn’t do anything. Myself and thousands of other people just had the same opinion.
But all the while I’m playing as a keyboard activist, the world is doing an injustice on me. But why? As I stamp my feet and scowl, I got 32.2K retweets, why hasn’t world peace happened yet?
This is what makes us idiots (sorry). We use this tool, hoping that by getting our ideas and solutions out to the world, and them being accepted and agreed upon by others, that it will have a real life action. It won’t. We’re idiots to think that.
If we want action, we must unplug ourselves from social media and do something about it.
You don’t want a conservative government? Stop tweeting about how shit they are and go vote for another party.
You want to travel the world? Stop ogling at travel bloggers Instagram’s, stop buying into material things promoted by the Kardashians, and save up for a ticket.
With thanks to Daisy Warner
