(It's down to the fact that I can't be bothered to provide regular posts).
Anyway, this is actually a semi-serious post for once about a couple of things that genuinely concern me on my favourite punching bag - Facebook.
Behavioural influence
I went off on one a few months ago about how it is dangerous that ignorant morons can reach global audiences with their racist, xenophobic garbage on social media. Seemingly with no consequences whatsoever, they are free to share whatever twattish, misspelled opinion they have to millions of easily-influenced people, and those people will then swallow it all (all Muslims are terrorists, don't you know), and this is where people can actually get hurt or killed. It is a real concern, and this post is related to the issue of creating an actual culture at the click of a button.
So, seeing as very few people bother with the small thing of making their profiles private these days, I'm often treated to unwanted things popping up on my Facebook homepage i.e. if someone on my friends list likes or comments on a post with "Show everyone every aspect of my fucking life" privacy settings enabled, I'm able to see this on my feed. Lucky me.
This has allowed me to see a lot of stomach-turning posts that normally trigger nothing more than a roll of the eyes from me. But recently I've began to notice certain trends, almost a culture, emerging among a certain group on social media - the (usually) under twenties, specifically young girls.
As we've already covered, literally anyone on Facebook can create a post, be it a picture, video, or just a status, and share it with the entire Facebook population. Sometimes, these posts will get latched onto and shared thousands of times, spinning off into social media virality (I wasn't sure if this was a word and had to Google it to check - it is! There you go, there's a free insight into my life as I blog. I feel like this sidebar has gone on a little too long now. I'm going to end it) where young and impressionable minds are ready to be influenced, and where grumpy fucks like me moan about them ending up on their home pages. Now occasionally, these posts going viral is a very good thing - they can dispel myths, boost confidence, share stories of heroism, and generally have a feel good vibe. I have no issues with these posts.
The problem comes when these posts are so mind-numbingly stupid that it goes beyond a joke.
I mentioned the young girls demographic. There is a frankly horrifying culture emerging here, and I don't doubt for a second that it is further fuelled by social media. I don't have a name for this culture yet, so the working title is It's Cool To Be Paranoid, Selfish, Needy, And Openly Hostile, or ICTBPSNAOH. I'll work on it.
ICTBPSNAOH is demonstrated by girls sharing whatever post some fuckbell came up with on a whim. They share it not out of scorn - "Hey guys, check out this ridiculous post. I feel bad even sharing it but people need to be aware of the type of shit that's out there" - but are instead sharing due to the spine tingling reason that they agree with the post's content.
I know what you're thinking - spine tingling, Rach? Really? You're not Stephen King, get back to moaning about impolite staff in Tesco.
Unfortunately, I'm not being facetious when I say that the sharing of these posts scares the crap out of me. Before we look at why, I'd like to share with you some of the posts I've been privy to in recent months. I apologise in advance.
Now then.
I'm the type of person that can find humour in most things, within reason. A lot of stuff I see in my day-to-day life usually provides me with some sort of source of amusement, which I think is a healthy attitude to have. Take the fact that I'm approaching 30. I definitely find that funny and not at all depressing. Hahahahaha. See?
None of the above pictures, nor the countless other pearls of wisdom I've seen recently, provided me with anything other that a sense of utter contempt for those who created them.
Do these people have any idea what they're doing? They are creating a culture where it is not only acceptable to behave like an entitled princess who expects men to do everything for them, but a culture in which the behaviour is actually encouraged and celebrated. This can have a very real affect on young girls who are still figuring out who they are, and could ultimately influence their lives and choices in the future.
Don't text me every morning? Just don't bother speaking to me at all.
He didn't ask me out. There's no way he just might be shy and would prefer me to make the first move, he's clearly a pussy and/or not interested in me.
I have anger issues, but I'm not going to deal with them. Other people need to just accept it because I'm not going to change.
I also saw another one recently that I couldn't find for this post, but it essentially said "I can be the most needy person in the world and texting you every two minutes one day, and then really moody and completely ignore you the next. That's just the way I am, baby!".
What the fuck is that? I'll tell you what the fuck it is - it is telling young girls that it is okay to be a bad person. That is what it boils down to. Don't worry about being trustworthy, loyal, and reasonable. No, look out for number one, fly off the handle at any given moment, and expect others to pick up the pieces.
Oh, and it's worth mentioning that all of this also has an affect on young men, as it teaches them that they should expect girls to behave this way, and won't question it whenever a girlfriend tries to hit him over the fact that he didn't text back quickly enough. It's just the way she is, baby.
What a sorry state of affairs.
The younger generation are in a quandary. Everything is done on Facebook these days - events are organised, messages fly about, updates are posted. Social media, for all its problems, can be useful in modern day life. You'll be stretched to find a young person who isn't on social media of some form, and this means they will then of course be exposed to this nonsense on a daily basis, whether they like it or not. It will slowly but surely begin to alter their behaviour until they turn into spoilt brats, and what then? We're looking at a generation of people who believe in ICTBPSNAOH, where selfish acts are promoted as the right thing to do, where overreacting is the norm, and where women are kept princesses and men are downtrodden and used.
It makes me fear for my young niece, and also any children I may have in the future. Hopefully this craze will have moved on by then, and we instead celebrate ambition and hope rather than the ICTBPSNAOH culture.
Somehow, sadly, I doubt it.
Narcissism disguised as concern
This will be a short one as my fingers are tired. Stop sniggering at the back.
I don't hide the fact that I hate pointless selfies. Standing at the top of the Statue of Liberty? Go ahead and take a picture of yourself with the backdrop of NYC behind you, that's okay - you enjoy yourself. Heading off to the shop? No. I don't need to see a picture of you by your front door for that.
It is blatant compliment fishing, and I despair at the complete narcissism and the underlying lack of self confidence this demonstrates. But these posts usually get my copyrighted eyeroll and I scroll on.
However, over the last couple of days I have noticed several posts consisting of a black and white selfie with "Challenge accepted" as the caption. One Google search later and I facepalmed myself so hard I gave myself a black eye.
Maybe I should post a selfie of it.
Anyway, apparently this new craze is to "raise awareness about cancer". These brave souls are taking the time to pick up their phone, switch their front camera on, take several photos until they decide on the most flattering, scroll allllllll the way to the black and white filter, and then, fingers trembling with the effort of it all, posting it on Facebook to make people think about a deadly disease.
You may be surprised to hear that I have several issues with this.
Firstly, unlike the ALS ice bucket challenge, there is no donation to any sort of cancer charity. Were this the case, I may be a little more forgiving as it would actually make a difference. But this isn't part of the "challenge" at all.
Secondly, what the fuck do you mean "raise awareness"? Are you saying that people forget that cancer exists? That your friends need to see a ghostly black and white picture of your mug to remind them that this disease is still around? Enough with this "raise awareness" bullshit, it is yet another use of this vague statement that doesn't actually mean anything, and society really needs to stop throwing it around under the pretence that is does. Speaking of pretence, this brings me neatly to my final point.
Don't pretend that you're posting a picture of yourself to help people with cancer. Admit to yourself that you are posting a selfie for one reason and one reason only - to receive compliments. For people to tell you that you look "gorge, hun", and for those little thumbs to appear under your colourless face. Don't insult cancer sufferers, cancer survivors, and the families that have lost a loved one to cancer, by trying to disguise your narcissism with half-hearted concern.
Just don't do it. It is fucking nonsense.
If you truly want to help, take the time to donate money to a cancer charity, where your actions will be appreciated. Don't contribute to another craze which, when you think about it, is not completely unrelated to the ICTBPSNAOH culture.
Use your heads, guys, don't take pictures of it.
