Cartoon by Alan Luna
Ebola is making millions of Americans sick though they will never contract it.
More than 10,000 confirmed cases of Ebola have been reported in Africa, but only four cases in the United States.
Social media is the real disease to fear.
People have largely become desensitized to the fear, but Southwestern College’s Ebola scare shook people up because it became a (temporary) social media phenomenon. A touch of real fear breached the emotional walls people had erected around themselves. Social media rattled the cages containing people’s fears. Later that day, however, all was forgotten.
Social media has altered the fabric of our society by shortening our attention spans. Direct interaction has become practically taboo. Face-to-face communication can be awkward so we retreated to phone calls. Even phone calls were too much for some folks, so now texting rules.
Social media denies us the ability to connect with one another in ways that are meaningful. With social media people may be constantly connected, but always alone. There is little value in having hundreds of friends on Facebook when people have no friends to talk to in real life.
Newsworthy tragedies demonstrate the evolution of social media. ISIS beheadings, Ferguson, Santa Barbara, Gaza Strip, the atrocities in Syria, Malaysian Flights 370 and 17, Sandy Hook and the Ebola outbreak in Africa have markedly different communication footprints.
All of these stories were prevalent in the media. Yet these vile, reality-altering events that brought about deep outrage are fading from the American memory like a snap on Snapchat.
In 1970 the shootings at Kent State were a national tragedy that drove the country’s conversation for years. Four students were killed and nine others wounded by Ohio National Guard. A nation was galvanized and the tragedy helped end the Vietnam War.
How long would a Kent State-type tragedy hold national attention today?
Not long.
Outrage is no longer sustained. People see the events as images on a screen rather than circumstances affecting human beings. ISIS, Ferguson, Santa Barbara, Gaza Strip, Syria and the Malaysian flights flickered across our nation’s eyes then disappeared into obscurity.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” wrote philosopher George Santayana.
Prepare to repeat.
Technology has made it no longer necessary to memorize most information. It has also allowed us to forget what it feels like to make genuine connections.
Memorization is no longer necessary. Just forget to be afraid.
