Misinformation Age

The invention of the internet connected everybody around the globe. For many it is a miracle! It has given the masses the power to write self-published books without going through a major publisher, meaning a million untold stories were suddenly told! For others, it has given them a platform to share their opinions and thoughts on life, either by posting blogs or videos online. It has given everyone a universal dictionary on all things, no matter how silly, trivial or obscure they may be; you're bound to find an online fandom for said discussion. It has allowed us to make contact with people we would never have even heard about, many friends are connected to each other across the globe through social media apps. So yes, the internet can be a very open playground and sometimes it is welcoming, but only sometimes. As not everything or everyone (for that matter) is as warm and fuzzy as your mother or father. No, I must confess that cellphone addiction is a troubling pandemic! Everywhere you look, no matter if you're in a lush field of green or in the midst of a stale stinking city; the people (especially the youth) are all glued to their phone screens. Did you know that the children of today actually pretend to scroll through their invisible phones when they are confiscated? Did you know, that they also move their hands in the motion of phone scrolling when fast asleep? It just goes to show that these poor young souls are somehow attached to their phones in a way that was never meant to be, almost like they are slaves to the internet, the need to explore virtual spaces through a tiny screen is so deeply ingrained into their psychology, they might just go crazy without their mobiles. It's a scary thought, that society at large is so hypnotised by these little, handheld computers, technology originally designed to simply make contact with anyone you wanted (or needed to) while on the move. However the most frightening thing of all isn't the world's reliance on cellphones, it is the hideous misinformation that spreads all over the internet that has infected the minds of the masses like some sort of horrifying zombie virus straight out of a horror novel. Because anyone, and I mean absolutely anyone, can share biased information on a serious subject and that can go viral, making many believe lies that result in catastrophic riots! Not only that, but people have built whole new perspectives on life, some of these aren't so bad; like online book clubs, which connect passionate readers all over the globe. There are certain health gurus who help people eat healthy and exercise in fun and exciting ways. So not all of these online spaces are bad, but there are just as many (if not more) degenerate internet cultures for every good one. Groups such as the Incel movement; who believe they are owed love and compassion, that it should be a given and not something earned naturally through human connection, they want a society where forced marriage is a common thing. There are many others that promote evil ideals online, perhaps there are too many to go over. Yet, it is the political minefield of 2024 that is most toxic of all! There are extreme movements of left, right, up, down, middle or diagonal! It is hard to keep up with the battlefield of politics as it changes on a dime and so many people rally up in protest, sometimes without fully knowing the reasons why. As lies mix in with truth, creating a climate where political correctness has become a spectrum of clashing beliefs and cultures. In time this madness will only grow, as more fuel is added to the fire of this confusing landscape of a million opinions. All of which are neither right or wrong, as they all come from unique and different points of view across the globe.

In 2035, life as we know it will change. Perhaps only subtly, but when you really look closer at this future society, you'll see the strange and troubling effects of a generation deeply lost within the technology of mobile phones. As of 2024, you'll still see some people out in the wild, who don't waste their time staring into phones. A lot of people still like to read books and look out the windows of public transport, whether that be on a train, plane, bus or taxi. In the present people still interact with the world in a very real way. However, in this not too distant future; everyone will be staring into computer screens. Most vehicles will have digital screens to look into while driving, giving the driver multiple angles of the car they drive, such as outside shots from all sides and so on; making this act more like that of playing a racing game than actually driving. There will be phone apps that tell people what to say in social interactions, of course most citizens won't use this because they are already confident enough, but the younger generations will be reliant on this tech, so not even their personalities will be natural. Every faucet of daily life will have some sort of (as of yet) unimagined workaround that replaces genuine Human interaction with something more techno instead. With this troubling future upon our horizon, you can bet that people won't watch the news anymore. They won't read old paperback books either, instead reading and absorbing all information from social media apps that only promote what all of those individual users want to see. You may not realise this, but even in 2024; the news stories your mobile phone recommends to you are completely different from mine, your parents, best friends or even children, because each phone develops its own unique algorithms that target individual interests. So only watching the news will give you, a sort of universal outlook, into what is actually happening in the world. Yet nobody will watch mainstream TV in the mid to late 2030s, so literally everyone will have a completely different view, with strong beliefs into the many, many political issues that already plague the 2020s. Soon you won't be able to look someone in the eye, not without them thinking it could mean something far more than being friendly. Some will believe eye contact means you're attracted to a person, so you might get someone flirting with you for doing that. Others may believe it is a sign of aggression and begin a fight with you over it. Every little behaviour will have some wildly different meaning behind them, depending entirely on which phone user you come into contact with. You see, not only will everything in society be examined through a technological lens, but so will every interaction, it will be judged and acted upon more negatively than positively. As people become more and more isolated, believing in such unique and different perspectives to the point where parents and children won't even understand each other in any meaningful way; this will result in a society of aggressive introverts. Nobody will talk to each other (at least not without a mobile phone assisting them). Nobody will agree with each other. Nobody will love ever again. In fact everyone will hate. Men will hate women and vice versa; because their social media will only say what is bad about each opposite gender. The youth will hate the elderly; because social media will only point out what is bad with every generation. Nobody will belong, because not even your own family will have the same beliefs. All because lies and slander will consume all minds in this horrible new age. The Misinformation Age.