So, I’m sure like everyone else, you’ve probably seen this post about Ajit Johnson’s poster series, #This_Generation. If not, feel free to take a look at it now.
The idea for making these images in response came from both the frustration I experienced after seeing the original posters and how impressed I was by little-ranting-college-boy‘s responses (you can view this as well in the linked post).
I wasn’t able to figure out how to translate all of the ideas into poster form, (most likely because I’m not an artist) so I’d recommend taking a look at little-ranting-college-boy’s comments because they delve quite a bit deeper than these blue posters do.
There’s just so much hypocrisy coming from people who cry out about how screwed today’s generation is - in doing so, they ignore their own faults, and more than anything else, their inability to adapt. The world is changing and instead of taking the time to understand the motivations of people who use technology more, they’re just dismissed as uneducated and self-absorbed. Of course, judging a person’s worth by how educated they are is disgusting, and to say that someone is self-absorbed by constantly interacting with others is more confusing than anything else.
People seem to always forget about the “social” in “social media”. You are not screaming into a void by posting on Facebook. You are not talking to a wall by tweeting. You are putting out messages for other people, actual living humans, to read and respond to. Having a conversation on Skype isn’t exactly the same as having a face to face conversation, no, but for a lot of people, it’s all they can get.
I have friends who I’ve had for years who go to schools in different cities - but these same friends are people who I talk to incredibly often thanks to, you guessed it, social media. If it weren’t for social media, pretty much my only choice would be to let those relationships rot simply because someone I care deeply about is physically separated from me. I’m also making new friends in the city I live in, of course, but there’s no reason to have to choose between the two.
For others, social media is the only form of social interaction that works for them. Whether it is due to living conditions, mental health conditions, or anything else (and the cause is very rarely our business), some people simply find social media to be a more accessible way to converse with others.
As well as friends and family, access to the near limitless resources the internet holds can be critical to people dealing with personal health, mental health, and living situation issues. The internet has some dark points to it, yes, but it has a wealth of knowledge that anyone can learn from. Whether they’re learning about things that #LAST_GENERATION teachers refused to properly explain in class, such safe sex (as seen in the example above), or riots halfway around the world no one in their country would have learned about were it not for social media, the connection the internet brings us allows for so many opportunities to learn.
I hope some people can learn from this post.
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