Ah, pre modern versus post modern society, also known as us versus our parents (in my eyes at least). It is a discussion we’ve all debated at least once in our lives, swearing to ourselves to read a book rather than scroll through Instagram or promising ourselves that we wont stay up until 2am watching pointless Youtube videos. This discussion delves into the positive and negatives of our societies past, present and future as a whole.
A pre modern society consisted of mainly face to face social interactions and direct experiences with other human beings (the horror). Today’s society is still grounded in this long standing way of life, but in a highly more accessible way. We are still communicating with one another yet it is more frequently and less physically. Where I stand on this issue is somewhere in the middle. I love tagging my friends in posts on Facebook, being able to talk to my brother travelling abroad freely and easily, and being able to reach those I love in seconds. I realise I am in a very lucky position. But this constant stream of instant gratification can so easily tarnish the importance of hard work and waiting. Communicating online is not the same as in person. Online is 24/7, around the clock, non-stop. What we lose in this intangible thing called the internet is the physicality and emotion of the human experience, the humanity.
For example, a kid having a rough time at school in a post modern society could go home, switch off and not worry about their issues for a while. Kids today do not have such a luxury as they are always online. A study found that “youngsters who browsed the internet for more than three hours a day were much more likely to be anxious or depressed.”. I grew up on the rise of social media and the constant use of technology, and looking back it only made my adolescence harder, when in reality it is already a hard enough time for everyone.
I realise I look like I immensely dislike post modern society, but it has its ups too. It allows us to connect with those we wouldn’t have known before, such as pen pals. It helps me maintain my passion for dogs, with the Facebook group “Dogspotting”. It helps everyone become more aware of the issues that are facing the world and whether or not they want to participate in making a change, and a whole lot more. Yet on a day to day basis a post modern society does not utilise all the good it can do and rather focuses on a more narcissistic way of life.
I read an article which featured Waleed Aly in which he eloquently states “I’m very concerned about what being a performer does to character. I think daily performance is a dangerous thing for humans to do, and an unhealthy mode for people to be in regularly. One of my philosophical objections to social media is that it transforms our entire existences into one-off performances. I think that’s a really unhealthy development.” which I think is an interesting comment on a post modern society.
As the common saying goes “do everything in moderation”, which I believe is very relevant in the world we live in today. Yet I do not think enough of us (and I am very much including myself here) apply this to our lives, but I believe we’d all be more peaceful if we did.
