MALIK: Do not make light of climate change via social media
Column: On the Good Life
"Photographs are a way of imprisoning reality," writes Susan Sontag in her essay "On Photography." "One can't possess reality, one can possess images — one can't possess the present, but one can possess the past ... Needing to have reality confirmed and experience enhanced by photographs is an aesthetic consumerism to which everyone is now addicted. Industrial societies turn their citizens into image junkies. It is the most irresistible form of mental pollution."
These quotes are somewhat damning in the face of the new, but not-so-new, trend of taking videos at the time of facing a climate crisis. Recently, New York has been facing floods that have gone as far as 7 inches of rainfall, but this is not just a problem as of right now. It is a problem that is going to spin out of control to a point when cities and towns, like New York, continue to face climate change in ways they are simply not prepared for.
Steve Bown, chief science officer for Gallagher Re, a global reinsurance firm, told NBC News, "The bottom line is that we have infrastructure in New York, infrastructure all across the U.S. and frankly, in many, many parts of the world that (are) just simply not capable of withstanding the climate that we’re seeing today and certainly not the climate that is yet to come in the future."
This is a dire situation. Our homes will be gone. The temperatures will be unbearable. Life as we know it will be permanently changed, and the time left on the climate clock is only ticking away.
The Climate Clock, a timer that tells the time left when we are allowed to act before there is inescapable, permanent climate change, is five years and 200-some days. So, I think it is concerning that one of the main thoughts, when faced with a tragedy, is to record oneself and family members walking in the flood waters or making jokes. This is not a moment capturing the indomitable human spirit but rather showing lawmakers that no one is taking the threat seriously.
In this case, the camera (on your phone, probably) is a method to distance yourself from the situation at hand. It is a way to make it real, whether in your memories or for clout online. It is an extension, but not a true reflection, of the events or the emotions behind it.
With the rise of the "tube girl," there is now a weird focus on your online presence being identical to your actual one. In the article about the tube girl, Sabrina Bahsoon, the author refers to the phenomenon of recreating the video as a way to celebrate a "moment of being truly unapologetic and unbothered."
The idea seems wholesome, arguing that embarrassment is temporary, but living your life freely is a permanent mindset. But I wonder whether this constant focus on the online is desensitizing us from our own lives. After all, if embarrassment was temporary and this was somewhat rehearsed, why didn’t she post a video that looked a little unprepared?
What we are seeing is a shocking lack of care for our lives and a greater focus on our lives online. This reflects an overwhelming sense of apathy to the concerns that affect our real lives — whether we will have homes in the next 30 years or if the climate will be habitable for our grandkids. And I fear, with how quickly we accept these concerning situations and the more we engage in desensitizing practices, the less likely we will be to bring up these grand issues to policymakers.
Some people might argue that the camera is a method of raising greater awareness for problems people are facing. But to that, I would ask, for whom are you raising awareness?
Surely not lawmakers or other people in your area, as they are already seeing this themselves. Ultimately, this changes nothing about our living conditions and our future. In moving toward the future, we are permanently leaving our life as we know it in the past.
We are using the camera, in some ways, as a shield from understanding our problems and dealing with their emotional toll. But I wonder, if we keep running, when will we ever stop to address the situation? Or at least stop and show we care so that the right people can do the right thing.
Too often, people use the camera to broadcast our struggles for profit in an increasingly temporary world. So, I will leave you with this. Next time you are facing a problem that you consider posting on social media, ask yourself if you are using the camera as a way to distance yourself from your own ability to act substantially.
Sehar Malik is a sophomore in the School of Arts and Sciences, majoring in molecular biology and biochemistry and minoring in French. Her column, "On the Good Life," runs on alternate Sundays.
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