Please Like, Don't Comment & Blindly Share
Over the last few months, from learning about about pangolins to perfecting our angles for video calls, sharing many recipes to obtaining unofficial degrees in epidemiology, I think it's safe to say that most of us have been spending a lot more time on the internet than we used to. We've also discovered numerous ways of helping those in need, spread positivity (I mean that figuratively), clapped and clanged for our frontline workers all from the comforts of our home. The reach of hysterical forwards reduced quicker than the virus, a small blessing. Everyone was trying to help each other as much as they could. There was an inherent sense of - we're all in this together, perhaps one of the few things that sporadically made this situation bearable.
When I first heard the phrase blackout tuesday, I thought that maybe people in America would shut their power or stage a massive march as a sign of protest. So imagine my confusion when I woke up to black squares on my Instagram feed. Of course it was something online. Google told me that #blackouttuesday was an initiative to go silent on social media, to reflect on what's happening and stand in solidarity with the BLM movement. I was surprised to see how many people in India had uploaded a black square as well. There is no seat quite as comfortable as a that on a high horse, the arrogance like a glittering piece of armour. Scrolling through my feed, I perched higher and higher wanting to call out people who wrote
The internet, particularly social media is built on the basis of performance. How can you be visible on the internet? Only by doing something. People have used the internet to make themselves the voice of anything and everything. Some voices are louder than the others, it doesn't matter to them who is listening as long as their voice is echoing somewhere. Some voices are never raised due to fear or indifference. Within the multitude of voices, occasionally, you just feel like showing that you have one too. Think less Indian Idol and more signing a petition for Change.org.
However, slowly everyone began reaching their saturation point, the house parties ceased, we realised that we can't keep eating bread, our worries couldn't be pushed away as easily and we reluctantly began to accept that maybe this is the way of life now - a thought that can still cause sleepless nights. The onset of cyclones in both the East and West Coast of India, earthquakes as well as locust swarms didn't exactly help either.
Then one day, an alarming video began making the rounds. Yet another African American man had been mercilessly killed by a white American police officer. A few days after that, a video of a white American woman calling 911 and hysterically lying that she was being threatened when a black man told her to put her dog on a leash (as was required in a public park) was released. It was fair to assume that that man could've been killed by the police as well.
I saw both videos - of George Floyd and Christian Cooper. They filled me up with disbelief, anger and sadness. If I, a brown person in India who is aware of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement but not an active participant could feel this way, I couldn't even fathom how the Americans felt. Turns out, they couldn't contain their frustration anymore. So they took to the streets. There was an outpour of protests all over the States and in parts of Europe too. The videos of police officers being violent without cause were shocking. The America which many thought was supposed to be the best amongst us was crumbling before our eyes.
When I first heard the phrase blackout tuesday, I thought that maybe people in America would shut their power or stage a massive march as a sign of protest. So imagine my confusion when I woke up to black squares on my Instagram feed. Of course it was something online. Google told me that #blackouttuesday was an initiative to go silent on social media, to reflect on what's happening and stand in solidarity with the BLM movement. I was surprised to see how many people in India had uploaded a black square as well. There is no seat quite as comfortable as a that on a high horse, the arrogance like a glittering piece of armour. Scrolling through my feed, I perched higher and higher wanting to call out people who wrote
- #blacklivesmatter because they weren't supposed to (that hashtag is for people to read about information regarding protests) and
- #alllivesmatter because that is taking away from this movement (to anyone posting that, please know that I know you mean well, all lives do matter and in a perfect society, all lives would matter equally but that is not the case. Don't drive away the movement from them. Make another one)
All this when I only learnt about the phrase a mere hour ago. I did wonder what the point was. I am not protesting, I am not donating. But, if I don't post anything, people will think I don't care.
For an internet addict like myself, it was hard to ignore what was happening in the States. The more I read, the more I felt the hypocrisy within not just my country but myself. It is difficult to look at the discrimination and violence that Black people face in America and not think of the plight of many minorities in India. The high horse had galloped away leaving me in a filthy puddle of my own making.
Prior to the lockdown, there were massive protests against the CAA Bill in Delhi. Many were sharing their thoughts on a daily basis on social media. I don't recall posting anything. Any excuse I give may seem pathetic, cowardly and for a (very select) few maybe understandable. I listened to people, I read about it but I was unsure what to post. I was afraid of the responses I would get. My mindset was similar to what I felt on blackout tuesday. If you don't post, you're pro-Government and thus anti-Islam. If you do post, why not go to Shaheen Bagh and show your support? The conservative right wing has always been what it has but I have observed a growing zealous streak in many liberals too - 'you aren't liberal enough'. There is no room left for moderation anywhere. It is only excess. Maybe I read too much into it. Maybe a post is better than doing nothing at all. Maybe because I am safe and unaffected owing to my privileged life, I can afford these excuses.
Social media has offered us the opportunity where we can simply post something and feel like we've contributed. For blackout tuesday, I posted this -
Prior to the lockdown, there were massive protests against the CAA Bill in Delhi. Many were sharing their thoughts on a daily basis on social media. I don't recall posting anything. Any excuse I give may seem pathetic, cowardly and for a (very select) few maybe understandable. I listened to people, I read about it but I was unsure what to post. I was afraid of the responses I would get. My mindset was similar to what I felt on blackout tuesday. If you don't post, you're pro-Government and thus anti-Islam. If you do post, why not go to Shaheen Bagh and show your support? The conservative right wing has always been what it has but I have observed a growing zealous streak in many liberals too - 'you aren't liberal enough'. There is no room left for moderation anywhere. It is only excess. Maybe I read too much into it. Maybe a post is better than doing nothing at all. Maybe because I am safe and unaffected owing to my privileged life, I can afford these excuses.
Social media has offered us the opportunity where we can simply post something and feel like we've contributed. For blackout tuesday, I posted this -
As suggested by my quarantine book club, I recently read an essay on the topic of the internet by Jia Tolentino from her book - Trick Mirror. She writes, 'where we had once been free to be ourselves online, we were now chained to ourselves online and this has made us self conscious. Platforms that promised connection began inducing mass alienation.'
When we were first introduced to Facebook where likes and popularity were paramount, we became obsessed with sharing our lives (the snippets we chose to share). It was a happy filtered bubble. The bubble well and truly burst when I received a friend request from my mom. I had been on Instagram only to filter photos (all about that Amaro and Mayfair) but it soon became the 'cool' social platform to be on. Our pictures were enhanced and more exotic; party planning was incomplete without a trendy hashtag and influencing became a lucrative career. Memes became a way to communicate. But somewhere, amidst all the content and the sharing, our attitudes began to change. People wanted to include themselves in your narrative.
Comments:
- You must try cooking ceviche with the locals. It's gluten free!
- I hope you stayed at the Five Seasons hotel, it's at the corner of Rip Off Ave and Overpriced Street
- Brazil is great
- Wow! I used up all my carbon credits when I sailed on my super yacht in Polynesia for New Years!
Devika has checked out
When we were first introduced to Facebook where likes and popularity were paramount, we became obsessed with sharing our lives (the snippets we chose to share). It was a happy filtered bubble. The bubble well and truly burst when I received a friend request from my mom. I had been on Instagram only to filter photos (all about that Amaro and Mayfair) but it soon became the 'cool' social platform to be on. Our pictures were enhanced and more exotic; party planning was incomplete without a trendy hashtag and influencing became a lucrative career. Memes became a way to communicate. But somewhere, amidst all the content and the sharing, our attitudes began to change. People wanted to include themselves in your narrative.
Devika has checked in at Machu Picchu
Comments:
- You must try cooking ceviche with the locals. It's gluten free!
- I hope you stayed at the Five Seasons hotel, it's at the corner of Rip Off Ave and Overpriced Street
- Brazil is great
- Wow! I used up all my carbon credits when I sailed on my super yacht in Polynesia for New Years!
- I haven't travelled because I'm helping achieve world peace.
Devika has checked out
We began criticising and sharing snarky screenshots, simply replying a distracted LOL to scathing comments. Who are we to reprimand our friends? It's all fun and private games.
The internet, particularly social media is built on the basis of performance. How can you be visible on the internet? Only by doing something. People have used the internet to make themselves the voice of anything and everything. Some voices are louder than the others, it doesn't matter to them who is listening as long as their voice is echoing somewhere. Some voices are never raised due to fear or indifference. Within the multitude of voices, occasionally, you just feel like showing that you have one too. Think less Indian Idol and more signing a petition for Change.org.
We are now in a 24/7 news cycle so everything becomes news. People willingly devote themselves to finding past mistakes made by people, criticising them and their apologies (which to be fair in most cases are non-apologies. 'I'm sorry you felt that way' is not an apology). After all, the internet never forgets. Posts may be deleted but screenshots are forever (I believe that since Instagram has survived advertising and the removal of the chronological feed, it's demise will be the day it informs you when someone screenshots your story). Context is irrelevant in most cases.
Social media is still something that a private user is responsible for. There is an onslaught of information and content, we like to share videos but we don't see what the others send. Even if we do see it, our mind is occupied with what response we should give. If everyone is obsessed with sharing their opinion and being the first to comment, the first to break the news so much so that verification and context can take a hike, where exactly are we supposed to get reliable information from?
Indian news channels in particular are a cesspool of bias, bigotry, anger and misinformation all of which is very loudly yelled at us. The visual assault by way of their tickers and ads alone give me a headache. The fact that some channels boldly display the number of asinine tweets they receive on their programme is as unnecessary as the ridiculous hashtags they create. Tweets and posts that carry incendiary remarks usually end up becoming that night's 'Breaking News'. Remember when Breaking News actually used to mean something? Positive and uplifting news stories are now an afterthought, somewhere between the commercial break and the next debate. Even with the case of the recent protests in America, many have focussed on the looting and protestors breaking curfew. There is less coverage on the peaceful marches, forget any in-depth analysis on why the system is so broken. In a situation like this, social media is the (trick) mirror that shows us the (#nofilter?) truth.
When elected right wing leaders voice their opinions, it is Freedom of Speech but when others criticise them, their speech and freedom are threatened (a quick hello to my CBI officer!). With increasing oppression, social media is one of the few tools that people have in their arsenal. It's ironic that the medium which created these leaders is what's responsible for their troubles as well. So what came first then? The aggressive media or the leaders? We know that both of them are benefiting, but what about us? Has being bombarded with constant antagonistic information made us dismissive and quick to judge or have our beliefs always been this way and hence, we have shaped this timeline?
Social media is still something that a private user is responsible for. There is an onslaught of information and content, we like to share videos but we don't see what the others send. Even if we do see it, our mind is occupied with what response we should give. If everyone is obsessed with sharing their opinion and being the first to comment, the first to break the news so much so that verification and context can take a hike, where exactly are we supposed to get reliable information from?
Indian news channels in particular are a cesspool of bias, bigotry, anger and misinformation all of which is very loudly yelled at us. The visual assault by way of their tickers and ads alone give me a headache. The fact that some channels boldly display the number of asinine tweets they receive on their programme is as unnecessary as the ridiculous hashtags they create. Tweets and posts that carry incendiary remarks usually end up becoming that night's 'Breaking News'. Remember when Breaking News actually used to mean something? Positive and uplifting news stories are now an afterthought, somewhere between the commercial break and the next debate. Even with the case of the recent protests in America, many have focussed on the looting and protestors breaking curfew. There is less coverage on the peaceful marches, forget any in-depth analysis on why the system is so broken. In a situation like this, social media is the (trick) mirror that shows us the (#nofilter?) truth.
When elected right wing leaders voice their opinions, it is Freedom of Speech but when others criticise them, their speech and freedom are threatened (a quick hello to my CBI officer!). With increasing oppression, social media is one of the few tools that people have in their arsenal. It's ironic that the medium which created these leaders is what's responsible for their troubles as well. So what came first then? The aggressive media or the leaders? We know that both of them are benefiting, but what about us? Has being bombarded with constant antagonistic information made us dismissive and quick to judge or have our beliefs always been this way and hence, we have shaped this timeline?
Now you have a biased media where integrity is a word used to describe their anchors and not a virtue that is displayed, a social media that has become an indispensable and very powerful part of our daily lives. The latter can make you feel happy when people like or comment, angry when they don't, depressed when you see photos of a gilded life and guilt when you see the good that others are doing. It can hopefully encourage you into doing something you always wanted to, create civil uprisings and necessary conversations from a hashtag alone but it can also determine the outcome of a presidential election or whether certain countries will exit a Union.
I am a supporter of social media. A friend asked me recently if I get as much as I put into social media, especially right now when my screen time is embarrassingly high. I thought about it and the truth today is that I don't expect much from it. Certainly not the news. It's a way of staying connected (sometimes more than we'd like), seeing beautiful things, laughing at jokes, speculating idly and yes, sharpening our claws. With time, I've realised that how much it can affect me can only depend on me. Sharing something should come from a place of knowledge and a mind that is ready for a nuanced discussion. Conversely, not everything that is posted by others warrants my thoughts or analyis, maybe just a blog post. We all have to learn to listen, to read, to be willing to open our minds before we open our mouths or hit post for any kind of societal growth to happen.
It's feels good to be right, to be applauded by peers and it is difficult to see the error in our ways but as we are living through it right now, there are a lot of injustices in the world and we have a lot of time and the entire internet (the good bits) to educate ourselves. We've mastered bread already.
The internet isn't going anywhere so our opinions can definitely wait.
I am a supporter of social media. A friend asked me recently if I get as much as I put into social media, especially right now when my screen time is embarrassingly high. I thought about it and the truth today is that I don't expect much from it. Certainly not the news. It's a way of staying connected (sometimes more than we'd like), seeing beautiful things, laughing at jokes, speculating idly and yes, sharpening our claws. With time, I've realised that how much it can affect me can only depend on me. Sharing something should come from a place of knowledge and a mind that is ready for a nuanced discussion. Conversely, not everything that is posted by others warrants my thoughts or analyis, maybe just a blog post. We all have to learn to listen, to read, to be willing to open our minds before we open our mouths or hit post for any kind of societal growth to happen.
It's feels good to be right, to be applauded by peers and it is difficult to see the error in our ways but as we are living through it right now, there are a lot of injustices in the world and we have a lot of time and the entire internet (the good bits) to educate ourselves. We've mastered bread already.
The internet isn't going anywhere so our opinions can definitely wait.
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