Social Media, the Internet and Why a Post-Pandemic Boom Could Mean Our Salvation
Maxime Mouysset
I’m not one to consider finance journalism content “light reading” but the discussion of a recent article by The Economist brought to light some deeply engaging subject matter. It argued (based on historical evidence of past pandemics) that people and families go onto spend more in the years that follow, taking more risks and demanding more of politicians.
It’s a forecast of optimism (certainly from a capitalist viewpoint) but also one of plausibility, plenty for one to hope and ponder with. Certainly, the attraction of another cultural boom akin to that of, say, the roaring twenties or sixties, is incredibly alluring, especially to the sponge-like mind of a writer.
Because you could argue this country of ours has stagnated in recent times, even in the years running up to the pandemic. At the very least we’d come to a crossroads; a country in search of a real sense of identity, once clear now a little foggy. Many of us will attest to feeling as if we were on autopilot; drifting through life, wishing to be uniformly present but doing so from a place up in the clouds.
It’s wise to consider the influence of the internet in all of this. The introduction of the world wide web has brought about systemic and generational change, both in terms of culture and our very way of thinking. But I would argue that it’s only now that we’re seeing its greater impact, largely brought on by its greatest creation, that of social media.
It’s created a cultural bubble, of sorts; a place to live vicariously, one that offers possibility, excitement and simple escapism. The downside? There’s a lot to find distasteful. To lay it out on the page, shaming is front and centre; committed in equal part by right and left-wing individuals, hate crime is left virtually unmonitored (ironically in a world that shies away from the risk of offending just about anyone) and influencer culture runs amok, creating an unrealistic lens through which to view the outside world.
For fear of sounding like a cliched and arrogant naysayer, I’ll steer clear from addressing specific demographics, but it must be said that lingering in coffee shops won’t spark daring ingenuity, neither will adopting vegan principles bring about a cuisine revolution. What ever happened to originality?
For all their qualities, the internet and social media hinder us as much as they help. They’re so ingrained into modern culture that soon we may know no different; it’ll simply be, subconsciously affecting every decision we make and, ultimately, distracting us from the real world and the day to day pleasures of simple, honest living.
That’s a somewhat bleak forecast, sure. But a post-pandemic boom offers salvation. It can shake the status quo and allow us to break free from these shackling trends of modern culture. More money is invariably the driving force of change, but the adoption of greater risk-taking offers excitement and opportunity. I imagine it will force us firmly back in the driving seat of our lives, demanding more from our fellow man and achieving a greater grasp of personal identity, not simply following a discourse determined by a newsfeed and popular trends.
For when someone stands up and says who they are and what they want, the world becomes a better and more interesting place. In the end, isn’t that what we all want?
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