What’s missing? The context of cancel culture

The essence of cancel culture 

One thing Generation X can take credit for is that we grew up with tangible media. These included books, newspapers, handwritten letters, postcards, vinyl records, cassette and VHS tapes, cinemas, stages, and physical photo albums. My theory is that as children, as we interacted with these objects, our brains grew to truly understand the meaning of “context.” 

When we closed a book, the story ended, at least, until we were ready to continue reading. We knew, without being told, that what we read in a newspaper was different from the dialogue in a novel. One story was based on fact, and the other was totally made up. When you pushed the eject button, the VHS tape popped out of the VCR, and the movie was over. Currently, we buy vinyl records from specialty stores; visit galleries to look at paintings; take walks in the park; and take photos with film cameras. So what’s missing, and why are we so miserable? 

In our digital age, I believe that more and more of us are losing the capacity to separate content (and text) from context. And it makes us more anxious because the stories we are fed never have an exit button so we can shut them down. When people can’t unplug, we see cancel culture, where some people are publicly shamed for saying or doing things that others consider offensive or unacceptable. 

Of course, there is plenty out there that is offensive or unacceptable. But in a culture of instant gratification and self-affirming narratives, those definitions are changing constantly. And this is why cancel culture makes us miserable. Our brains are struggling to place things in the proper context. We get frustrated quickly and destroy things instead of turning them off.

Consider the context

And this is not a Millennial/Gen Z issue. It happens even with Generation X. Look at one Gen-Xer’s comment on a coronation declaration I wrote for my second novel. The story is set in a fictional country, Maitheland, in an alternate timeline to this one, in 2033. The main Orthodox religion in that timeline is also fictional.

The ecclesiastical portion of a coronation scene? [This story must] be set pre-20th Century because there aren’t too many of those anymore. The last was Britain’s Elizabeth II in 1953. Spain’s King Juan Carlos I just swore a Freemasonic oath of office in 1975. Which explains why the contemporary Spanish monarchy has been such a disaster.

Reader’s comment

I found this response to my work unsettling because it disregarded the stated context of the declaration. The characters I wrote about are not based on any existing royal family. Was it necessary to question the historical provenance of a fictional ceremony?

While this was not a cancellation, it is an example of judgement out of context. This is the essence of cancel culture. Instead of observing and noticing things from a distance, people try to write themselves into a situation.

As I mentioned in the introduction, tangible media like books, vinyl records, and photo albums helped to shape my generation’s understanding of context through storytelling. These objects provided concrete instances for our developing brains to sort out the differences between real and made-up events. However, as we consume more interactive media, we are able to write ourselves into any story even when we are not invited to do so.

Stories and empathy development

Stories helped us to learn how to be the underdog, the prince, the fighter jet pilot, or the ambulance driver. High quality stories were better at helping us to use our imagination. They also helped us develop critical thinking skills. With every reading, we had the chance to experience the story from a new character’s perspective. During playtime, we created costumes and designed our own immersive environments. A lot of the things we did during playtime helped us to connect with our bodies and be aware of the world around us. Later, that awareness could be transferred to an understanding of the physical and emotional experiences of others. 

Nowadays, we are trained to talk about ourselves and do frequent checks for engagement. When we are constantly being judged and criticised, we may become less likely to express ourselves honestly for fear of being ostracised. Ironically, this can cause us to be less compassionate towards each other. Instead of making people better, cancel culture can lead to decreased empathy.

I feel that our brains are becoming more vulnerable to stress and anxiety because we use the same devices to do a range of things: work, play, communicate, relax, stay fit, and study. Adding to this problem is the blurring of lines when real events are used to create entertaining stories, or when fictional events are used to comment on current social issues. For example, we see grown men posting videos on YouTube in which they complain that Disney’s The Little Mermaid cast a young woman with tan complexion to “attack fathers.” Of course, the film was made for children but these men were outraged anyway.

The more we adapt to changing technologies, the more we forget the guidance that helped us to become sensible people. As adults we hear the term “work life balance”. It suggests that we need to relax, but we are not specifically reminded that we should focus on the physical world.

Instead, we are encouraged to do “adulting” activities on our favourite social media platforms. There, we watch someone painting a wall, comment as someone cooks a meal, and then listen as a book we purchased is analysed for us. Even romantic partners are taught that relationship maintenance is as easy as watching TV shows together.

Eventually, constant stimulation from being online becomes overwhelming. The blurring of lines between real and fictional events can lead to anxiety and stress. Instead of reducing that stress by logging off, many of us respond by attempting to control the individuals who appear on our screens.

Outro: Read printed books

There are plenty of stories to read, and we are buying more than a billion printed books every year. But are we turning the pages? Effective communication, conflict resolution, teamwork, empathy, and resilience are themes we can find in books. Turning the pages of a book tells our brain that we are following characters on a journey. By witnessing their struggles, we subconsciously construct templates for addressing similar challenges in our own lives.

Interacting with characters in our minds also helps us to empathise with ourselves. We need to be kind to ourselves in order to be resilient. As we grow stronger, we will become less interested in forcing other people to do (or say) what we want. 

The evolving landscape of digital media consumption is bringing up new challenges for future generations to resolve. Thankfully, the studies that have been conducted suggest that digital media can play a role in shaping our empathy and resilience. I believe that there is a conscious effort among us to use digital media to foster empathy and understanding. But there’s a physical world out there with things we can enjoy, too. We should remember that our minds are delicate. And if any of us had the right guidance in our developing years, now is a good time to reflect on the many soft skills they have taught us.