The Illusion of Connection

It is fatiguing to live in a culture dominated by art forms yet bereft of artistic merit. In the age of the Internet the ‘tweet’ is god, where every little thought must be documented and shared. We have emerged into a culture obsessed with sharing and connecting; yet we have never been more disconnected as human beings, interacting together on this magnificent floating rock. The obsession to share content has now clogged up the airwaves and the brainwaves entirely. It is now so easy to share an image or a tweet, a musing or a thought and instantly have it seen by millions. This culture, obsessed with presenting idealism yet enabling the complacency that maintains we will never reach these ideals. A culture that deifies anybody that has an iPhone, is good looking, and is living a life of vulgar emptiness, shallow and baron of contemplative mindfulness.

The illusion of connection is profound, we all feel because we can communicate on mass that somehow we are all together, yet we have forgotten how to speak to one another, how to write and read real English, what real emotion is, what real love is and significantly what true art is. The Internet is solely responsible for the cataclysmic shift in culture; it is its own culture now, a hyper reality that we are all plugged into, with no means of disconnecting. The detriment that this exposure has had on an entire generation is staggering and will continue to devalue the human experience and ultimately render us all vegetative vacant vessels of data. The rapid instantaneous fleeting of news, gossip, information and trends fly by every hour, where we have access to every single bit of information going on in the world twenty-four seven, the information itself is devalued as we are all desensitized to these perpetual occurrences, where by a natural crisis or a murder or the death of a significant figure, be it actor or politician, pop star or sport star, is merely seen as a hash tag trend, with a lifespan of nanoseconds. We have forgotten how to feel emotions appropriate to particular events as we are living our lives through the lens of constant media, misshapen and malformed.

This culture has had such a critical impact on art in every capacity. From the inception and creation of art from the ‘artist’ regarding the purity of intent and artistic merit, to the distribution and consumption of the product. Whereby all art forms, be it film, music, visual art, literature, photography, poetry etc. have all been devalued as they are now symbiotic to the internet culture as is everything else. You could argue there are benefits to this symbiosis as there are many upsides to the internet that allow an artist the ability to maximize all aspects of their work and ultimately reach a wider audience. However the problem is ultimately more grave than that, it is not a question of logistics, it is the fact that we collectively have forgotten what real art is and what it is to experience a true, tangible, reflective moment, wherein lies the capacity to be affected and physically moved by a work of art.

Now that all art is instant and fleeting, music is instantaneous, the entire back catalogue of ‘The Beatles’ can be downloaded in seconds, and no effort or physical engagement is required of the consumer. Films are as fleeting as are the careers of the actors themselves, whereby all Hollywood films now follow the same conveyor belt proceedings of production, marketing, junket press, viral press, award season, and then forgotten the minute it has finally been seen by the masses. A corporate affair bereft of passion or soul. Cinemas now like old abandoned church ruins, former places of worship, now dark and empty. Now you can download and stream movies instantaneously, why go to the cinema? What is the point? 

There are many positives to the Internet and Social media, it is fascinating that we are all responsible for shaping our world and its media, that the media is not dogmatically augmented by the shadowy, faceless moguls, but the language of our culture is contributed to by all of us. Now that we have ‘Twitter’, ‘Facebook’ and ‘Instagram’, yes it has created a culture unmotivated and disengaged with anything other than the glitz and the glamour of a life just slightly out of reach, but it has also given a voice back to the people who were otherwise subject to be misrepresented, misquoted and more often than not, simply victim of tabloid lies. Sure there is a lot of good to come from modern culture, yet it is the disengagement and the passivity of consumption, the lack of required usage of ones brain that startles me most. There was once a distinct separation between the general public and art, which allowed a tangible experience to occur when seeing a film, or hearing a band for the first time, or seeing a painting. There was an inherent degree of mindfulness, such which cannot be measured if we are all glued to our phones and gadgets even when we are out in the world, or at a show, desperate to take pictures to post on ‘Instagram’ rather than be present and witness the unique moment before you.

I worry for culture and for art. As we progress further into the murky waters of tomorrow, expression is under extreme threat from PC Censorship and common sense has been permanently replaced by red tape mania which ensures progression is impossible and only conservative tradition can prevail, obstinate and defiant. Intelligent thought has been liquefied by celebrity culture, Reality TV, Facebook, Twitter and the media, as we continue to cater to the thick instead of presenting information higher. We choose to exist on the lowest frequency, diluting the integrity of all sensible thought, promoting only the logical succession of the Orwellian future prophesied all too precisely.

What the future holds for Humanity I have no idea, but I do know that in order for us to thrive as a species and to lead fulfilling lives individually, human connection is paramount, we must experience real emotion, physical contact and true love. The synthetic simulation of these emotions will only further a culture of apathy and despondency, misdirected without a spiritual anchor to all our lives.