It’s hard to overstate the importance of being able to smile in these perilous times. From boots and fists flying at Manchester Airport, to lives still being taken in cold blood in the Middle East, the news agenda from afar has been pretty grim. Following the recriminations on platforms like X, can leave a lasting feeling of overwhelm.
I recently went on holiday with my family and had such an enjoyable time that coming off the digital detox was a bit of a shock to the system. Logging back online after a week of quality time with loved ones was a stark reminder of what a cesspit social media can be. People are literally screaming at each other to defend the indefensible.
There’s a feeling of helplessness watching people rage over things beyond our control. From the decision to allow an athlete convicted of raping a child to enjoy the kudos of performing at the Olympics, to US senators showing themselves to have spines of undercooked spaghetti as Presidential candidate Trump tells his followers to “Get out and vote, just this time. Four more years, you know what? It will be fixed, it will be fine! You won’t have to vote anymore.”
The world’s future lies in cyberspace. Decisions are made, opinions are formed and battle lines are drawn, increasingly, on the basis of social media opinion. It will likely impact who becomes the next US President in November.
So despite just a fraction of the UK’s 67 million population being on X, it is harder than ever to ignore the growing influence of likes, retweets and inflammatory takes.
What we can do is understand the antidote. Recognise that not every piece of incendiary breaking news needs our contribution. Resist the urge to be lured into vitriolic culture wars. Remember the joy that our differences bring to our lives and celebrate them. Replace the urge to rage against our machines with hugging our families and reiterating that we love them.
Some of the lies and attempts to bend the truth about a variety of subjects over the past week alone has seen the re-emergence of a sentiment expressed by the German-American Philosopher Hannah Arendt. Paraphrased, she said: “This constant lying is not aimed at making the people believe a lie, but at ensuring that no one believes anything anymore.”
And as our society melts down it is more crucial than ever to recognise the road down which we are being taken. Also to focus more than ever on the things we can actually control. We’re nearing the point of waking up searching each day for something to be angry about. Let’s instead embrace our health and those closest to us.