Problems: From bigger and fewer, to tiny and many

Did a horse-sized duck of the past become a hundred duck-sized horses today?

What if the social networks and tech tools we use daily went away? What would we lose? What would we gain?

Go far back in time and there were fewer problems in our daily lives. Bigger problems, perhaps. But not the cascade of doomscroll dilemmas that demand action and attention.

That, plus a dose of liking and subscribing and all the other things we're asked to do.

Such as leaving a comment, which you can do so below... You know you want to.

Sometimes you want to comment when you really, really don't. Compulsion could be a better word than 'want'.

History Today

While yesterday's problems were generally more dangerous and unknown, the sheer number of issues weighing on our minds wasn't close what we have today.

You can probably reel off a list of stuff that's exacerbated the situation: Our global connectedness; status notifications 24/7; rolling news; endless choice; adverts and marketing and capitalism; what people expect of you.

Hardly an exhaustive list. Pick some yourself. Take some of mine away. The point is, loads of stuff calls for your consideration. Your attention is needed everywhere. No wonder we're safer in the world, but suffering from more anxiety.

At the same time, the algorithms are seductive, as mentioned in a recent edition of Down the Rabbit Hole. A wave of interest to distract you from your own choppy seas.

The piece explains: “The dizzying buzz of social media and 24-hour news cycle can keep us constantly preoccupied while the real lights in our lives burn out.”

Advances in tech, tools and connections are beneficial too. I'm not suggesting any of it is simply bad. But these things come with a host of new problems, and those with privilege have more scope to fly ahead while those without have more obstacles in their way. Privilege doesn't mean you get what you want, but the potential gets easier with the more layers of privilege available to you.

What Next?

The more I go down this path, the more I imagine cries of, "Yes, but you're not exactly providing a solution, are you?"

As with so many of these big picture problems, any assumption that an easy answer is there for the taking is likely an assumption too far.

Rather, I wonder if the current big picture is already far too steep to work out a reasonable plan without involving the pain points we're trying to avoid.

If TikTok comes to an abrupt end in America, it'll be interesting—useful, even—to see how a sudden social shift works. At the same time, the recent pandemic didn't usher in as much change as had been expected at that time.

However things pan out, you can't solve the world's problems—current and future—with too much of an imbalance. How are equitable solutions possible when division and disagreement take centre stage? You can vent at someone on the socials when you see the facts are wrong, but what difference does that make to either of you? The tiny chance that you may persuade someone of the error of their ways (indeed, if you are correct in the first place!) isn't going to spark the revolution. I mean, it might happen, but the chances are basically zero, and that method of activism is hardly going to turn the urgent tide in a timely manner.

SWAPPING (UN)LIKE FOR (UN)LIKE

That doesn't stop the wave of demands on your time and attention. Nor the pleas of help from all angles. If you don't have an opinion, you're part of the problem, apparently. If you don't help every cause, you're a monster, apparently.

Would you rather fight a horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses? If yesteryear was the horse-sized duck and today is a bunch of tiny equine beings, maybe there's not that much difference in the two.

For now, there is generally greater safety, but a state of perpetual anxiety for many. Have advances resulted in a trade off that's replaced physical safety with mental turmoil? If so, is that advancement? Or is it one bother replaced with another?

XKCD: Duty Calls - https://xkcd.com/386/