The average American is exposed to thousands of advertisements a
day. Our generation especially is constantly being bombarded by ads and
messages on how to live our daily lives and how to spend our money. So how are
we possibly supposed to decide what to buy or which brand of deodorant is
better? Is anything in our culture actually unique anymore?
Over break I read the opinion piece in the NY Times called “How to
Live Without Irony.” Although there were many interesting parts of this article
about the modern idea of “ironic living,” the most interesting part to me was
the argument that our generation has become attached to this lifestyle of
indirect action because we lack a unique culture. The article explains:
"It stems in part from the belief that this generation has little to offer in terms of culture, that everything has already been done, or that serious commitment to any belief will eventually be subsumed by an opposing belief...This kind of defensive living works as a pre-emptive surrender and takes the form of reaction rather than action."
We have come to rely so heavily on non-action and communication
through social media that it has become difficult for most to interact in
person. We have become so consumed with defending ourselves from taking risks
that we no longer have anything we stand for. We now rely on making fun of
everything around us, which I see as an unhealthy and destructive lifestyle
that I am just as much a part of as anyone else. We have become so accustomed
to all of the stuff in our lives that our generation is constantly searching
for something that is specifically ours. We look to generations past, yet that
is never truly ours.
So what do we do? Is it
possible to actually break away from this? I believe the first step is becoming
aware of the prevalence this ironic lifestyle has in our culture, especially in
social media.
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