It’s only Monday and ‘Murica has already delivered the goods.
The highlight of the news today is the Southern mom shooting up her children’s iPhones with a rifle, denouncing ‘the effects social media’ as the cause of her children’s disobedience and disrespect. The whole incident was filmed, on what I can only assume is another iPhone, and ironically posted on social media. Naturally, as a blossoming media practitioner I found this interesting on a variety of levels.
Firstly, the mother’s overwhelmingly negative view of social media is noteworthy, as it highlights a distinct discord between her (the older generation) and her children (the younger generation). This generational divide is quite common, not only in regards to 21st century emerging media, but also throughout history. When the printing press became easily accessible, older generations were concerned that children would spend all day reading and never go outside; when radio was introduced, similar concerns were expressed. Fear of change, especially fear of changing, emerging media, is cyclical; change is almost always met with a negative reaction.
DailyMail author Anneta Konstantinides writes that as the children watch their phones be destroyed, “the only outlet they’ve ever known to a social life disappears.” This reinforces the generational bias I discussed earlier, suggesting that the author believes that children no longer know how to socialise outside of social media. One could certainly argue that social media is a large part of how 21st century kids socialise, but is difficult to substantiate the argument that it is the only way they know how to socialise. It’s not my place to comment, but one could suggest that the mother’s reaction is more a reflection on her method of parenting than the presence of social media in her children’s lives.
Moreover, the incident is an interesting case study in terms of the saturation of the media in our lives, and the speed with which news travels.