The Internet is a world of its own. With a slight touch of our fingers on a laptop, trackpad or an iPhone app, we enter a realm that involves no more physical energy than slight movements in our fingers and twitching of the eyes. Share, like, comment, reply, add, friend, follow…simple words that cause an avalanche of information.
Social media provide the opportunity for users to share and discuss a variety of topics. They can range from food, health, government, animals, movies, people, etc. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest are examples of different types of forums that exist to harbor and flesh out theses ideas. One subject that engaged millions of people less than a month ago involved something as simple as a dress.
This dress caused social panic in the online world and eventually caused real, face-to-face arguments over the catastrophic issue. Is the dress black and blue, or is it white and gold? Absolute panic. This issue became so prevalent that it sneaked its way into our everyday conversations. I overheard people arguing about the colors on the way to class, over coffee at Starbucks or even in classroom settings.
This dress cluttered my Twitter feed. Picture after picture of that dress popped up accompanied by “Check this out,” “Outrageous,” “Definitely white and gold”… The arguments over breakfast, lunch and dinner became so heated that I found myself defending the type of image I saw. As a social human being, I wanted to engage in the disputes.
However, only recently did I take a step back and realize how bizarre this fight was. I use the past tense because, in all honesty, no one cares anymore. Like a storm that dumps rain in a matter of minutes, the topic flooded our minds for a few days and disappeared.
I find it amusing that something as simple as that dress found its way into everyday arguments. Imagine what we could accomplish, achieve or change if we discussed matters that actually mattered. The presidential elections are just over a year away and all I see on Twitter are re-tweets of Frozen 2. I know politics aren’t always as exciting as an animated singing blonde with magical snow powers, but I think we can work through certain priorities.
The Internet is a formidable tool. It has the power to make or break someone’s day, enlighten us, bring us to tears, and apparently ignite arguments over the color of a dress. We all want to believe that we add to important discussions that circulate within society. With one Twitter re-tweet or Facebook share we pass on information, which means we are participating as active citizens…right?
Social media are a delusion. Actively participating in discussions or arguments means we listen and respond to each other. Social media provide a forum in which information can continue circulating. It doesn’t involve a true response. Each person adds something new because we want to be heard, so we provide input without listening to one another.
The discussion about colors of a dress makes us feel like we are adding to society. The dress became a major topic, and thus people wanted to have an opinion about it. Nonetheless, it is frightening that the arguments became important enough to dictate face-to-face conversations. One hardly sees that with topics that involve the government, ISIS or foreign policies. Not only are we not responding to one another, we are letting trivial matters dominate the direction of our conversations.
I understand that the dress topic is fun. Many topics that circulate within the social media sphere exist purely for enjoyment purposes. It’s possible that if we turn social media into a tool that caters to important debates, our society would be a lot more informed than just whether a dress was black and blue or white and gold.