Has Social Media Completely Desensitized Us?
Unless you’re returning from a month-long retreat into the wilderness with no connection to the rest of the world or just awoke from a coma, you’re aware there’s a war going on.
Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, invaded the neighboring country of Ukraine.
For the record, I’m not a geopolitical expert. I had to look up the definition of geopolitical just to see if it was the correct term to use. Nor do I have a desire to debate the wrongs and rights of the war, its participants, or the events that led to this.
The point here is - Do we even grasp what the hell is going on?
This is a war.
With Real Weapons.
And Real Deaths.
Since the start of the war, social media has been abuzz with the latest updates and hot takes. Not just from those on the outside looking in but from those participating in the war. Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has been giving real-time updates on the war and the status of the Ukrainian military. We’ve seen cell phone footage of fighter jets shot down and children living in basements and metro stations.
The real-time back and forth information flowing into our timelines is surreal.
And, of course, Elon Musk, not one to miss a self-promotional opportunity, is in the mix.
In case you missed it, Elon took to Twitter a few weeks ago to challenge Vladimir Putin to single combat, with Ukraine’s freedom at stake.
You read that correctly. Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, challenged Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, currently invading Ukraine, to a fucking fistfight.
And the winner gets Ukraine.
I can’t make this shit up.
Only Twitter could deliver a little nugget with this much narcissistic machismo baked in.
Just typing those last five sentences and looking at it on my screen makes me wonder if nuclear holocaust isn’t the best option on the table. Just so civilization can start with a clean slate.
Just to be clear, I’m not an Elon hater. I’m actually a big fan. I think he is a genius who, before he is finished, will have done as much for humanity as any human ever.
But when I see things like this tweet, it makes me question if even he, one of the smartest people alive, understands that this is more than just part of The Great Online Game. A game in which we all scramble to build the largest following and accumulate the most likes.
When we witness acts of war on our Twitter feeds, do we subconsciously see them through the same skeptical lens we see the rest of social media? We’ve come to expect that a certain amount of production goes into what we see trickle into our feeds. From Kim Kardashian's airbrushed ass to Mark Whalbergs post-workout, dehydrated abs, we’ve learned that what we see isn’t always what we get. Even the most avid social media users take what they see with a heaping pile of salt.
All this makes me wonder if we grasp the seriousness of what is taking place right now. Unlike any war in history, social media is leaving its indelible mark on this one. I hear people speak about the updates they see on social media as if they are catching up on the latest episode of The Bachelor. It’s as if we are seeing a movie plot unfold before us, one tweet and post at a time. Can the threat to a country’s freedom be entirely appreciated when communicated through images like those below?
Oh, those beautiful memes. How would we cure our boredom and get through that Tuesday mid-afternoon Zoom meeting without them? They’re funny, light-hearted, and contain just enough truth to drive the point home. But unlike Kim’s ass or Mark’s abs, behind these memes lies a horrific story of sacrifice, demolition, and death.
Are those of us not in Russia or Ukraine able to separate the endless parade of memes from the unspeakable truths taking place a world away? Do we realize that the images we see aren’t just some game taking place in the social media metaverse, but are actual events taking place in people’s hometowns and backyards? It’s as if we’re all watching a giant live game of Call of Duty, picking sides and rooting for our favorite team.
With all of that said, I don’t want to ignore the good that has come from social media’s coverage of the war. Money has been raised for those displaced by the war, humanitarian aid has been organized to distribute necessities to those in affected areas, and even Elon pitched in by supplying Ukraine with Starlink terminals and power supplies to prevent communication outages across the country. These are all wonderful benefits to the inside look social media gives us.
I hope to see more of this and fewer memes, Twitter spats, and one-on-one challenges, as amusing as they may be.
After all, this is real life, with real lives at risk, possibly all of ours.
On the bright side, assuming we are still here next week and haven’t been wiped from the face of the earth, stay tuned to your Twitter feed. Rumor has it Elon will challenge China’s President Xi to a 100-meter dash.
Winner gets Taiwan.