The Litter and Flytipping of Idealistic Opinions

The American Author, Neil Postman illustrated in his book: Amusing Ourselves to Death, how “cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainment” when “a population becomes distracted by trivia”.  He portrayed how politics, journalism, and religion have become subjects to the demands of recreation.

In today's socially digitalised world, we have been bombarded by media ranging from social interaction services to networking sites. These sites have allowed us to stay in touch with our geographically dispersed family and friends, communicate with like-minded others around us and even take up initiatives to advocate for the matters that are dear to our heart. However, this has also given rise to a constant urge to log on to this virtual reality for a sense of belonging, self-expression, curiosity or a desire to connect. Whether it's our stories or opinions, they all gain exposure rapidly, giving individuals around the globe continuous access to a near-real-time conversation about both important and trivial matters. Hence, it has become an open-ended question as to whether this pervasiveness is good or bad for us. 

The contemporary period that we have become puppets of, has been characterised by an abundance of communication, information, and entertainment. These days, the democratisation of speech and diversified perspectives have led to a better understanding of both trivial and serious issues amongst millions of viewers. Even though this has allowed us to frame a diversity of perspectives and engagements on an unprecedented scale, still, widespread opinions on social media do not limit the type of content that goes on it.

Due to the vast access to social media, the viewers get dominated by content creators to a large extent. People have been increasingly sharing their lives online with little concern for who may be viewing their dialogue. This has enabled preconceived conceptions to be implanted in the minds of the viewers, affecting and causing insecurity about their own decisions and perceptions. Despite embracing their distinct personality, the viewers have been tending to seek approval for perfectionism through the artist's social norms which has disrupted the 'one of the kind' personality that the viewers possess, thus, making them more pretentious.

Amidst the shadow lies the rather frivolous side of the theme as the outcry of 'fake news' has also become quite ubiquitous nowadays. Websites containing hoaxes and misleading information pop up across the internet and are often spread across social media with the motive of increasing their reach – deliberately or inadvertently disseminating disinformation. Due to this disinformation spread all across the internet, democratic views and contemporary politics have been reoriented in unusual ways for a long time. Personalized content with no intention to be taken as democratic or political opinion is becoming propaganda, which is thereby deviating onlookers of the actual issue. This gigantic clutter instead of communicating something of value instead has been propagating unintended matters. 

As a result of this clutter, also known as the liberal quantity of media exposure, individuals have acquired an illusory impression of reality because of the repetitive and consistent content that is displayed on a specific platform. In the end, neither the content creators nor the viewers are at fault here. The fault lies in the abilities of all the individuals who don't make a conscious effort to diminish disinformation. The fault lies in our inherent rage to propagate trivial matters and also in our blind notion of this insignificance that we have allowed to blossom, endlessly.