Nowadays it seems like everywhere we turn there is worse news. In the age of awareness and social media activism, it can easily begin to feel as though we are being constantly flooded with the next global issue or charitable cause.
My first time consciously witnessing a massive scandal was the Chris Brown fiasco in 2009, where Chris Brown callously assaulted pop icon Rihanna. At the time, the news dominated headlines as we witnessed two of the most prolific R&B/hip hop artists’ dirty laundry be aired out live.
Fast forward to now, Chris Brown is very often reduced to a punchline for casual banter. The scandal that once halted the industry has become meme material, referenced casually in online debates and stan wars.
Then came R. Kelly. His decades of abuse and torment towards young Black women was one of the worst celebrity scandals of the 21st century. So how did we get to the point where something so severe was gradually absorbed into online humour?
More recently we have witnessed the downfall of Sean “Diddy” Combs. While some people may handle the bizarre details of the case with humour, such as the obscene amounts of baby oil allegedly used, I find that the jokes have completely overshadowed the severity of the situation.
Now in light of new Epstein files being released, people didn’t even wait for time to pass before jokes about the situation poured in online. There was barely any moment of collective reflection or time for outrage before the situation was reduced to memes.
We are all familiar with the phrase “if we don’t laugh we will cry” and whilst that is true, it also contributes to us becoming numb and void of appropriate emotions and reactions to terrible news. We as a society have taken this attitude too far, allowing us to gloss over global tragedies. On TikTok you can find news channels broadcasting devastating events around the world, yet the comment sections are often filled with image reaction memes in response to people’s real suffering. What begins as a lighthearted meme is subconsciously conditioning us to accept horrific events as normal.Â
Historically speaking, protest has always been the general population’s way of taking back control for themselves. We often hear more “radical” activists complain about the complacency of modern day activism, arguing that social media plays and peaceful marches are simply ineffective  in comparison to revolutionary uprisings such as the Civil Rights Movement or the anti-apartheid resistance.
I would argue that the desensitisation of real world events also contributes to the decline of radical protest. Not only are we numb to things that should shake us to our core, we are constantly overstimulated by the mass overproduction of news reports, making it difficult to focus on one issue before the next one pops up on your timeline. Due to this, real movements operate more as a mere trend before the next hashtag is picked up, as opposed to something intended to enact real change.
A society that is numb to traumatic and horrific events is the perfect breeding ground for corruption and injustice to go on unchallenged, hidden in plain sight. The eventual decline in our empathy and touch with reality due to overuse of social media is exactly where powerful figures and institutions  need us to be in order to keep getting away with vile abuses of power.Â