Face(book)ing The Truth

Sorry to re-tread old ground, but I fancy another rant about social media.

You see, the thing is, I think it’s making everyone childish and immature well into middle age. And not in the good way – not in the carefree, risk-taking, fearless, ‘anything is possible’ way of youth; but rather in the ‘fuck it, what’s the point?’, ‘why grow up and take responsibility for anything?’ way that is so infuriating in teenagers, but which most of us thankfully grow out of.

Don’t take my word for it – just look closely at the people you know who spend most of their times looking at social media. Talk to them and see what conversations will endure. I’m pretty sure you’re unlikely to have a decent debate about Trump’s relationship with Korea and how it might affect us in Britain; I would guess you’re more likely to hear ‘have you seen that meme where they’re snogging in a sauna??’

There’s a whole generation in their twenties now who have never read a serious article, never held a broadsheet in their hands and caught up with international affairs, they’ve just taken their ‘news’ from the most popular feeds that everyone else is also following, which dissect incidents down into Tweetable chunks and chortle-some pictures and punchlines.

The trouble with that is that no-one is broadening their outlook. No-one is learning from the experience and intellect of others, they’re just dancing along to the tune of the smuttiest poet. Where will that lead? A generation of proper journalists will die off and be replaced by whichever 22-year-old make-up enthusiast happens to have the most views that month. We’ll run out of people prepared to be the grown-ups making all the decisions and be left with a country full of pointers-and-huffers. You know the ones I mean: the ones (in their millions) who watch what other people are doing and then say ‘that was shit, they should do better’ and leave lots of little comments at the bottom of lots of other clips and posts. But when no-one’s prepared to stand up and lead, because everyone’s too busy criticising and ‘LOL’-ing, then we really will be down a well of shit without a ladder or a snorkel.

It frightens me to think I’m bringing a child into all this.

God I sound like an old fart, don’t I?

RC 14-6-18