In August 1964, the United States publicly declared involvement in the Vietnam War. This was a historical period for television, as the number of Americans who owned a television skyrocketed, and soon everyone had easy access to one. This meant that television stations were suddenly desperate to have the most exciting stories. Unlike the news that was shown of World War II in public theaters, these stories came from crews who worked for the stations, not the army itself. This made censorship much harder, and the public was suddenly given access to footage and almost live news of what was really going on at the front line.
This war is known as the first glimpse citizens – including women and children – had into what war actually looked like. People were, naturally, horrified, and a few of these people decided that they wanted to do something about it. On Oct. 21, 1967, around 100,000 protesters gathered at the Lincoln Memorial. This was one of many such protests. American citizens saw what was happening and immediately wanted to do whatever possible to help. That is the nature of humanity. We are a species designed to work together, and to help one another.
But consider what happens when the citizens of a country are given access to 24/7 updates on bad things happening worldwide. This is the modern reality for over 243 million Americans who use social media daily.
On Feb. 24, Russia launched a major invasion of Ukraine. News alerts were sent to citizens’ smartphones describing the horrible news of yet another war. Many were woken up by the notification and read through articles detailing the event from major news outlets. With the start of a new war came the added dread of what this would mean for us in the U.S. Unsure of the immediate consequences, Americans were then forced to return to their daily routine of going to school or work.
This is the reality our generation faces, and has been our whole lives. This was less than a year ago, and yet there have been multiple events like this that have been reported in our news since. The overturning of Roe v. Wade was widely known moments after it happened, as well as the death of Queen Elizabeth and then the protests in Iran.
At times it may even feel like the world itself is falling into chaos. But the world is a big place, and news travels faster than it ever used to. People mobilize and plan protests or demonstrations through Facebook and TikTok. The majority of people are being constantly informed by these and other social platforms. This generation, more than any other, has come to find such news inescapable. What used to be a ‘living room war’ has now evolved into multiple conflicts at any given time, following people out of the living room, into the bedroom, classroom, grocery stores and even the bathroom. Wherever someone goes, the news now follows. This deeply affects the mental health of those who are active on these platforms daily.
