Sometimes memes make you think. Sometimes they miss the point. While I favor the former, I see far too much of the latter, and I wish I’d see the more discerning mind in just what’s being shared and subsequently “liked.” Far too often, this is not the case. So many of us are already so tuned into a point of view, we’ll hit the thumbs up and move on before we understand what’s really going on.
I was reminded today, as I am pretty much every day, as I walked the dog. The thing about walking a dog is that the dog acts as a kind of advanced warning system. Not for me. I’ve learned to stay alert to my surroundings when I’m with the dog for a couple of reasons. First, to say that she can be a bit feisty around other dogs is an understatement. And so, when we come to a blind corner, I have to reign her in a bit to make sure she doesn’t lunge at a dog 4 times her size (or larger) as she makes the turn. I also have to be sure someone doesn’t reach out to pet her. Sweet as she is inside the house, she can turn on a person outside of it — even a person she’s met before.
Secondly, I’m a stickler for leaving dog crap behind, and I’m fairly certain a good portion of the piles I see around on my walks are because the owners are both lazy slobs and just not paying attention while their dog is making a mess.
Now, if Korea wasn’t the country that came up with the flashing red or green strip at the curb by a crosswalk light, they had to be among the first to adopt it from elsewhere. The idea is that people staring down at their cell phones while walking will see the red or green strip and either stop of go without having to look up. My dog functions in a similar way. She’s low to the ground and out in front of me between 5 and 10 feet, and people staring down at their phones catch a glimpse of her and look up in time to move to one side or the other rather than walking right into me.
I run through this lengthy introduction to get to this: As usual, while I was walking the dog, I came across a young lady with her eyes glued to her phone. It’s the norm, and quite often when I see it, I’m reminded of a meme that missed the point:
I”m sure the author of the meme thought they were making a gotcha statement about how things haven’t really changed, but a little thought about it should have you seeing things differently. For a few reasons.
Of great importance, the commuters pictured are generally using their time to catch up on the news. The same news as most everyone else. They’re not watching a million different videos or surfing porn (yes, I’ve seen men in public viewing porn) or playing games, or doing any one of a number of things that could be scratching their respective itches. They weren’t being antisocial so much as they were preparing their minds to actually be more engaging with others by keeping up on the same important events about which most every other informed person knew at the time.
And when they finish the commute, they folded the paper, tucked it under their arms (or left it for someone else to read), and were on their way. They didn’t bury their faces in its pages as they walked down the street. They didn’t pull it out for a look when talking to others (unless they wanted to show them something) or at dinner with friends or family. What they were getting out of the paper was probably making them a more social and informed person on a broader range of things that were part of common knowledge at the time — because others were engaged in the same activity.
The algorithms of today are pigeon-holing us all into our own little boxes. More and more we don’t share a common feel for the world around us. We’ve painted it all in red and blue — there’s no more purple out there. There are plenty of alternative news sites to choose from now — and in some respects, that’s a good thing. It’s good to be able to see diverse views. But we also have to think about what we’re seeing. We have to be willing to see the other side more readily. And in this, the fact that we no longer seek out reliable sources hurts us. We’d rather go the easy route and stick to the ones who tell us what we want to hear. Like Fox on the election. “Our guy lost, so if you don’t tell us he didn’t, we’ll just find someone who will.”
Cowards.
Being challenged by something is good for the mind. Being told “you’re wrong” every so often keeps us actively thinking. And having our favorite diet of “news” fed to us by an algorithm that has us pegged makes our minds soft and useless. Are we really up to the challenge anymore?