Four straight rainy weekends in what should be a beautiful time of year in Maine have me in a foul mood and have forced me to do the unthinkable: release my inner curmudgeon, which will now vent about everything that cries out for ventage.
Today more people than ever are considered “on the spectrum.” Is that because more is becoming known about autism? Or is it that increasing numbers of individuals don’t take the time to pick up on social cues because they’re too busy taking selfies, playing video games, or commenting online about the most recent celebrity scandals. There’s no telling how many traffic accidents are caused by people operating a motor vehicle while simultaneously gazing in fascination at their phone’s screen.
And heaven help the technology-dependent when their devices are lost or become disabled. Those unaccustomed to a phoneless existence often have difficulty coping rationally without hand-held technological aid. People relying on phones for everything from waking up to charting their daily exercise are often incapable of independent thought, even when they’re in possession of a fully functional (albeit attention-monopolizing) device.
But perhaps the worst thing about phones is they allow too-convenient access to social media, a term which is an outrageous misnomer. “Anti-social media” would be more accurate, since far too many readily accessible websites offer individuals already short on impulse control the opportunity to impetuously spout ignorant, offensive and/or inflammatory nonsense publicly.
Profit-driven platforms like Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook don’t just perpetuate unnecessary drama, or create strife where it needn’t exist; they spread trends that too often virally metastasize into risky social behaviors, not to mention provide the opportunity for potentially horrific online misconduct like cyberbullying. It’s unsurprising that increasing numbers of elected officials (and aspiring elected officials) are textbook narcissists, since social media is grooming Americans to become more vapid, egocentric, and non-thinking with each passing hour.
Today’s high schoolers have every bit as much potential at this point in their lives as teens in past generations did, but greed-fueled social media platforms are leading them into self-centered, exertion-free existences. The only thing more alarming than millions of non-thinking citizens is the prospect of a looming generation content to let ambitious, ethically unconcerned types do their “thinking” for them.
When my then-home state instituted a lottery in 1972, my father characterized it as a “Stupidity Tax.” That harsh but accurate description goes for other forms of gambling as well. Casino operators skillfully market the business of picking their customers’ pockets as a chance to have fun getting rich the quick and easy way. “Gaming” boosters maintain lotteries and other forms of legalized gambling create jobs and generate revenue for the government agencies that regulate them, and in fact they do. But gambling also preys on individuals with obsessive tendencies, and often those who can least afford to pick up the habit. And as is the case with most addictions, betting has ruined far more lives than it has improved.
I’ve got lots more axes to grind, like littering, the monetization of youth sports, the designated hitter rule, and my computer’s spellchecker claiming “ventage” isn’t a word, but it’s best that I stop here. Released inner curmudgeons that stay out too long inevitably become outer curmudgeons, and America already has more than enough of those! <
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