There’s always outrage when what’s deemed a significant event occurs. Inevitably we jump on our social media accounts to display our anger, our “outrage,” which results in the ultimate lazy and hypocritical act of protest, virtue signalling.
Social media has made it extremely easy to be theatrically outraged to get likes and clicks between sipping your Starbucks Caramel Brûlé Latte.
On both sides of the political spectrum, people of all ages, races, and economic backgrounds are outraged about something today. We live in a period of human history where every demographic feels they’re somehow being violated and victimized. The outrage ranges from billionaires who believe their tax burden is oppressive to the Gen Zs who hijack digital stages hurling insults at strangers whose views differ from theirs.
The level of outrage is rising across all sectors of society, as you’ve probably noticed. You’re either outraged when you see someone without a mask or outraged when someone is wearing a mask. (Why can’t we shrug our shoulders and say to ourselves, “Each to their own”?) People who complained about Stephen Harper’s tax hikes now equate any tax increase to communism and fascism.
Outrage is addictive. Social media is the perfect medium for expressing outrage, usually from an anonymous account, while comfortably sitting at home. What’s easier and more crowd-pleasing:
- Tweeting your outrage at John Tory’s failure to address Toronto’s homelessness, or
- Putting your frivolous spending, which we all indulge in, on hold and donating to a local shelter instead?
In 2022, we were outraged by the following:
- Will Smith
- Russia-Ukraine war
- Rogers service outage
- Lisa Laflamme
- Mahsa Amini / Iran protests
As I write this, Will Smith’s career is still going strong. The Russia-Ukraine War continues. Rogers Communications and Bell are still in business. (I guess the #boycottRogers and #boycottBell didn’t resonate with subscribers.) Iranians are still protesting Mahsa Amini’s death on September 16th while in police custody, and the Iranian government continues to arrest and execute people.
Outrage-fueled narratives thrive in the age of social media, absorbing large quantities of our attention. Based on what I’ve seen, any viewpoint is taken to emotional extremes. News anchors who a week ago expressed mild concern about civil unrest or a virus inevitably morph into making apocalyptic predictions. Experts who gave balanced advice are replaced with doomsayers. Social media influencers and mainstream media pundits adopt absurd positions to get people upset and talk about them. (e.g., Jordan Peterson)
Every day, all day, we vent our outrage on social media. Additionally, we tag those who inflamed us, letting them know our feelings. That’ll show them!
Meaningful action has been replaced by “blips of theatrical outrage” on social media platforms. The lack of meaningful action is responsible for the sluggish pace at which social injustices are addressed. We’re aware of all our social ills, and if social media talk is any indication, they outrage us, but we rarely act on it.
For example, our earth is undeniably changing due to climate change. Almost everyone I know is outraged that governments aren’t doing more to combat climate change. Yet, how many people, including yourself, have radically altered their 1st world lifestyle to reduce their ecological footprint?
The shortage of Christmas trees outraged those who claim to be concerned about climate change. Is there anything more environmentally wasteful than cutting down a healthy tree that produces oxygen, transporting it (using fossil fuels), then decorating it and trashing it after a few weeks?
Many people reading this will say, “I rarely use social media. Why should I care about all this outrage taking place on social media?” (Remember when people tried to portray themselves as being “superior” with their time saying, “I rarely watch television?”) Don’t kid yourself; you—all of us—are downstream from social media’s effects on television, radio, and traditional journalism. Increasingly what passes for journalism is reporting on the outrage exchanges on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, et al.
Let’s cross our fingers that the pandemic will officially end sometime in 2023, easing much of the angst being expressed on social media. Meanwhile, instead of being upset over everything and filling social media with reactionary posts, identify the issues that bother you the most and research them thoroughly. Then decide what you can do to contribute to the solution, and—this is key—take action! The simple act of expressing outrage on social media has no tangible, meaningful value, but contributing to the solution does.
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Nick Kossovan is the Customer Service Professionals Network’s Social Media Director (Executive Board Member). Feel free to send your social media questions to nick.kossovan@gmail.com. On Twitter and Instagram, follow @NKossovan.