It’s a dull kind of horrible feeling to live in the present moment anymore. On the surface, everything looks okay. Medicine and safety are both advancing quickly, and so is the internet, meaning that information, knowledge and ideas are spread faster and more directly.
However, if you’re a boots-on-the-ground soldier of this generation, you understand that the technology you’ve grown up with is responsible for your mental health problems and fledgling body dysmorphia. It has led to the rampant spread of misinformation, and fed the content that’s now ruining both your attention span and your capacity for interpersonal relationships. Somebody would probably fix the system if it wasn’t sending their kids to private school.
The heightened access to the world’s voices that comes with access to the internet is now in the hands of children and guarded securely by advertisements for products nobody needs or wants. You might have to select which car brands you’ve heard of out of a list YouTube provides just to watch a video Steven Crowder put out to brainwash you into believing white supremacist ideology is okay. Good luck raising your only-child to play “spot the difference” with frightening opinions and facts that are only marginally better. If they get bored, boot up Minecraft and hand them the iPad.
Do you like celebrities? Probably not. Odds are, you prefer the girl in her room making 30 second fashion advice videos that are sandwiched between actual footage from the war in Ukraine. Maybe you enjoy longer form content like YouTube videos. In that case, I hope you also enjoy watching famous people fight each other, because celebrity boxing matches now come with the territory. I guess it takes its cues from the Oscars.
Cable TV is on the ropes and now everybody is copying Netflix. As you’re no doubt aware, the obvious solution to recurring payments for a variety of overpriced bundled content you’ll only watch a fraction of is, naturally, recurring payments for a variety of overpriced bundled content you’ll only watch a fraction of.
So, fear not, traditional media lovers: your beloved format is alive and well because somebody forgot to tell Hollywood that an overwhelming supply of streaming services divides up all of the content and defeats the point of a streaming service. Luckily, you can watch dancing vegetables on YouTube for free (brought to you by Squarespace and Manscaped).
The thing is, all of this technology and all of this media isn’t even old enough to vote. For example, Instagram came out in October of 2010, but when was the last time you expected a 12-year-old to have everything figured out? YouTube just turned 17-years-old, and most of us wouldn’t say we were at our best when we were that age. TikTok is no older than 8-years-old, so remember to wish it a happy first day of third grade this August.
While nobody would argue that things are very well-organized, optimistic, or even make much sense right now, it’s important to keep it in perspective. We’re living in a time that, in the grand scheme of things, is still reeling from a series of techno-social upsets. Technology and the companies that make it are still figuring out the rules, so forget about the geriatric retirement home in charge of making the laws. The world will catch up in due time. For now, it’s up to the individuals to do the best we can with what we have, and that will be enough.
Turner Burton is a sophomore studying music production at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Turner know by tweeting him @turnerburton3.
