No doubt about it we are living in some crazy times. 2020 is just the cherry on top of the crap Sunday we have been served since birth
Millennials have already experienced two attacks on the World Trade Center the latter being the most traumatic experience until Covid took over. A never ending Bush presidency, that begged the question how could someone so stupid hold such a high office, we had no idea. A recession, with an economy that never fully healed and continues to plummet because the government can't seem to understand trickle down economics just doesn't work. Sprinkle some wars in there, to be honest I dodged recruiters in High School because despite them claiming the army was the easy way, I kept my eye on the prize and committed to never ending student loans. :)
Toss in a barrage of school shootings with no resolve. Had the chance to nip that in the bud, following Columbine, by tightening gun laws but nope. Boomers with their shortsighted planning for future generations, not only financially but the environment as well. By now you have all seen the hell fire that has replaced the smug smog filled skies of California. And lets not forget our biggest threat, the 3rd coming of Satan, he who will not be named. Which has us in a never ending downward spiral of a pandemic and racial injustice.
Least we forget the rise and fall of Kanye West. Long story short, things are really f***ed up.
So with all of that we have chosen to sequester ourselves to social media, creating our own carefully curated lives. A reality show where we are the writer, director, and most importantly the STAR.
It started out so insidiously, with AOL. Aim and away messages. These little things consumed our time after school. The Myspace top 8 either confirmed or destroyed friendships. If you were a nerd like me you may remember Xanga, which opened me up to the wonderful world of HTML and coding. Chat rooms were basically the wild west where you could talk to strangers about anything. They always got really dark, sexual or racist, but we couldn’t resist the temptation to join and answer the cliche a/s/l every time.
Everything was internet based, the future was online. Until that future was made murky by the fall of the .com industry. We stopped seeing those fun Yahoo ads and commercials urging us to join tech jobs. That is not where the internet was headed. It was no longer an all inclusive super highway but a trafficking network to buy and sell user information. Facebook should come to mind when I mention this. What started out as a social network to connect old high school friends who moved away to college. It slowly evolved into a massive unregulated machine that has contributed to the current political chaos.
By allowing everyone to create their own versions of reality, we no longer know what it means to be a functioning person in society. Our thoughts are controlled by the apps that take up space on our "smart devices." Originality has been replaced with trending hashtags, challenges and streaks.
I am guilty of all of this. Living for the post and not enjoying the moment. Filters on filters that eventually made me hate my facial features. Being bombarded with photo shopped pictures of anatomically impossible bodies that made me be resentful of my natural curves. Trying to live up to unrealistic body standards, wanting anime eyes, a tiny head mile long limbs and eyelashes that resemble broom. What is happening here? More importantly how did I get here?
What started out as a pastime to keep me connected to the real world began to rip reality to shreds.
If you haven't done so already I would highly suggest watching "The Social Dilemma" on Netflix. You will have an understating that I am not shaming social social media users but making commentary on the destruction it has created as I continue this series.
Coming Soon: Phase I Recognizing the Problem.
Millennials have already experienced two attacks on the World Trade Center the latter being the most traumatic experience until Covid took over. A never ending Bush presidency, that begged the question how could someone so stupid hold such a high office, we had no idea. A recession, with an economy that never fully healed and continues to plummet because the government can't seem to understand trickle down economics just doesn't work. Sprinkle some wars in there, to be honest I dodged recruiters in High School because despite them claiming the army was the easy way, I kept my eye on the prize and committed to never ending student loans. :)
Toss in a barrage of school shootings with no resolve. Had the chance to nip that in the bud, following Columbine, by tightening gun laws but nope. Boomers with their shortsighted planning for future generations, not only financially but the environment as well. By now you have all seen the hell fire that has replaced the smug smog filled skies of California. And lets not forget our biggest threat, the 3rd coming of Satan, he who will not be named. Which has us in a never ending downward spiral of a pandemic and racial injustice.
Least we forget the rise and fall of Kanye West. Long story short, things are really f***ed up.
So with all of that we have chosen to sequester ourselves to social media, creating our own carefully curated lives. A reality show where we are the writer, director, and most importantly the STAR.
It started out so insidiously, with AOL. Aim and away messages. These little things consumed our time after school. The Myspace top 8 either confirmed or destroyed friendships. If you were a nerd like me you may remember Xanga, which opened me up to the wonderful world of HTML and coding. Chat rooms were basically the wild west where you could talk to strangers about anything. They always got really dark, sexual or racist, but we couldn’t resist the temptation to join and answer the cliche a/s/l every time.
Everything was internet based, the future was online. Until that future was made murky by the fall of the .com industry. We stopped seeing those fun Yahoo ads and commercials urging us to join tech jobs. That is not where the internet was headed. It was no longer an all inclusive super highway but a trafficking network to buy and sell user information. Facebook should come to mind when I mention this. What started out as a social network to connect old high school friends who moved away to college. It slowly evolved into a massive unregulated machine that has contributed to the current political chaos.
By allowing everyone to create their own versions of reality, we no longer know what it means to be a functioning person in society. Our thoughts are controlled by the apps that take up space on our "smart devices." Originality has been replaced with trending hashtags, challenges and streaks.
I am guilty of all of this. Living for the post and not enjoying the moment. Filters on filters that eventually made me hate my facial features. Being bombarded with photo shopped pictures of anatomically impossible bodies that made me be resentful of my natural curves. Trying to live up to unrealistic body standards, wanting anime eyes, a tiny head mile long limbs and eyelashes that resemble broom. What is happening here? More importantly how did I get here?
What started out as a pastime to keep me connected to the real world began to rip reality to shreds.
If you haven't done so already I would highly suggest watching "The Social Dilemma" on Netflix. You will have an understating that I am not shaming social social media users but making commentary on the destruction it has created as I continue this series.
Coming Soon: Phase I Recognizing the Problem.
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