What would a world without social media look like?

What would a world without social media look like? You might think that question is easy to answer, citing historical precedent attempting to make the case that a time before social media existed should form the basis of the answer, but that would be dismissive. In the last 20 years social media has fundamentally changed our society and left a lasting impression upon all of us, even those who don't actively use it have been affected by it.  A post-social world would not look like our pre-social world.

One thing is for sure though in my mind, the golden age of social media is dead. That's not to say it will disappear overnight, far from it in fact. When we look at other forms of media like television, film, music, and magazines, they have all had periods in time we refer to as their golden age, in some cases multiple. Their golden age, defined predominantly by the peak of our consumption of that form of media lasted for a similar period of time. Despite each of these forms of media now existing post-peak they are still present, still producing content, and we still consume them in significant quantities. The power and influence that they once held however has now been put in check.

The Static Evolution of a Restless Mind

What you know is not fixed, it is fluid, forever changing. When we learn, we add to what we know, but sometimes we chip away at the foundation we once thought would stand the test of time. When I was younger I liked to observe more than participate in social situations. I would watch intently always present in the moment, when others thought that I was miles away or lost in thought, I was processing everything that I perceived. The intergenerational conflict that I now realise is perpetual, was something in particular that amused me. Even as a teenager I was able to comprehend that change was abrasive and that people always resisted it, even when they were able to recognise that change was in their best interests, their self doubts and their desire to hold onto the past for good or for bad, made them hesitant.

With age I have come to realise that your attitude to change depends a lot on your frame of reference. As a teenager, for me and my peers the world we knew was the one we were experiencing in that moment. Growing up in Northern Ireland there was a lot of reflection and a great importance placed on remembering the past, but what was exceptional about my adolescence was that remembrance was not borne of nostalgia and longing for bygone years, it was very much a warning; the past was not something my generation romanticised it was something we never wanted to return to. The outcome of that atmosphere was the nurturing of an entire generation that was focused on the future instead.