Every day, I find myself becoming increasingly aware that the PewDiePie quote, saying “[we] are evolving, just backwards,” stands to be true. That said, by no means am I the first to be irked by the lack of social apathy these days- particularly stemming from the internet. So scarcely will one pass by an interaction amongst us youth devoid of a “Womp womp,” “who asked?”, or a new yet frequent occurrence coming from my own friends, “take it to a publisher.” God forbid a woman speak about something she’s passionate about.
It’s All Because Of Those Darn Phones.
There really is no better way to put it, but “brainrot” is truly a plague that has rendered a number of my peers unable to hold conversations. I find that whenever I try to have meaningful conversations about topics I believe are unjust or downright ridiculous in general, light-hearted or otherwise, my friends don’t seem engaged. This could, of course, be due to a lack of interest. However, I think an argument could be made that social media has slowly begun to normalize being comfortable with making jokes out of everything that comes out of their mouths, rather than responding to a meaningful conversation in kind. Humor is a coping mechanism that I use plenty enough, though it makes it hard to speak organically about things that would normally bore one to death in a classroom.
Social Media Cultivating Apathy.
The omnipresent “brainrot” is hardly the only reason people are apathetic to more and more things now. With social media, everyone – especially the younger generations – becomes increasingly exposed to news, gossip, commercials, and short-form media constantly. I really don’t believe we were meant to live like this. People become desensitized to violence; they don’t want to talk or think about the consequences of minor actions, whether it be the environmental impacts of AI or government decisions. Additionally, aside from more overarching global topics, dismissals used in a joking manner, i.e., “and the world kept spinning”, “it’s not that deep” don’t just find a home in comment sections, but find their way into interactions between friends. Sure, it’s funny to make such remarks for minuscule things and jokes, but does it really not irk you after a while? To put it plainly, it shouldn’t be used in response to everything. If you have nothing better to say, you might as well just say that.
As Elie Wiesel puts it. “…the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.”