To be ignorant is to lack knowledge. In the modern world, our desire is to impress individuals through our knowledge and understanding of events taking place in the world. We always want to be present through our awareness of events. Having witnessed said event, barely had a chance to take in what is going on, boom – we are thrust onto the next piece of news dominating the world.
The media only perpetuates this attitude within us, this physical desire to have all the knowledge in the world as quickly as possible. It is a conveyor belt, the newest information constantly moving into our minds before being removed, replaced by new, more recent sparks of understanding. We are in a 24-hour news era, information is constantly being churned our way on the radio and television: media organisations are always competing to see how many people access their content. Yet this has also evolved to websites, supposedly the place to read in-depth analysis (if not in a newspaper) on the issues of the day, occasionally updating with new stories but at the speed of an OAP compared to social media. That was not the case last week. In the run-up to MPs rushing to oppose Theresa May’s deal before stating their confidence in her government, on every website I examined to spy the latest developments, the first word that appeared was ‘live.’ Every time without fail. We wanted to know precisely what was happening with the government and the media delivered. I suppose this could just resemble the age of celebrity we are in as a culture. Whenever one glances on celebrity websites – though I hardly do so myself – it appears people desire the latest news and gossip from whoever’s life they would desire emulating immediately, straight away, desperate to know how their career is developing. Perhaps this is just the case in politics, so obsessed since the age of Blair have we become with spin, debates and the image of politicians. The sense of hard-hitting simplified, bullet point facts instead of broader, long-term analysis is evident. As with everything, we could just blame Margaret Thatcher. It was her government that massively liberalised our economy, leading to a society based on greed and endless consumption, destroying northern communities and had competition at its heart. We love products, renewing our purchases all the time. The most prime example is that of the iPhone, the differences between the models insignificant to most ordinary users – yet people always want to upgrade, have the bigger, better screen to enjoy and appreciate. The same is true for the news, forget what happen a few hours ago – with the volume of stories taking place all around the world, we want to hear the now, reveal speculations for the future, anticipate what is going to happen next. Even if everything is based on the events of just a few days ago, in the whirlwind that is news, it becomes insignificant. Normally, the volume of news would be a positive thing. There are multiple media sources, far too many to count around the world. In an era where absolute press freedom still needs to be fought for and defended, shouldn’t a greater volume of news be celebrated, increasing accountability and transparency? Initially, this was my initial thought, my own argument in defence of endless news, the media always needing a story to fill. However, the volume of stuff – quite simply – that dominates the news could mean bad news the government quietly wants to slip out is not properly held to account or discussed. Rather, even though the UK media platforms may be wider than ever, the opportunity of accountability may have only diminished. There is some intangible satisfaction when having knowledge about events. With all the events taking place, having the latest knowledge to offer other people makes an individual look well informed, astute and suggests their assertions are based on evidence. Since recent polls have shown that people feel more aligned to their Brexit position than party allegiance, a desire to be aware of arguments for and against a position, could highlight how the growth of media has made us more informed. Our 24-hour news media could be only entrenching our political positions. The reliability of those positions is, of course, dependent on where you receive your media from. The growth of media and volume of information our minds receive will only increase. Social media especially has transformed the way immediate data reaches individuals, an endless tunnel of new ideas as we constantly check our phones. For the growth of globalisation, hearing from individuals in repressed regimes, this can be excellent. But the amount of noise it makes, its reduction to our public discourse and the increasing narrowness of only focusing on the ‘live’ - the here and now – is not beneficial for a long-term approach. For Brexit, the only solution for a long-term glance as what an Earth has been going on is another Tim Shipman book!
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