In Search of Lost Time

Sebastian Conidi thinks about hope in the Post-Covid Era

 

I recently picked up a random student magazine lying around at a university the other day. Within it, a consistent theme was the apparent death of socialising that has occured since the pandemic. 

 

If there’s one thing that will define Gen-Z, it’s Covid-19. But not just ‘the plague’ in its own right, rather the socio-political fallout of a watershed moment in history. Our generation is not just impacted by the hysteria and loss of the lockdown years, but additionally the uneasy return to everyday life. Many of us endured our supposed ‘golden years’ of youth in isolation only to return to a world that is unrecognisable.

 

Media

 

It’s clear that the world never really got over the pandemic. The biggest symptom of this era-defining event was the shift in how we utilize social media. I saw a very interesting quote, ironically, on a random reel the other day that went as follows: “we used to go on phones to escape the real world, now we use the real world to escape our phones”. It used to be a great subject of scorn or ridicule when a member of the older generation would criticise the “damn phones.” But in 2025 it’s no longer a cringe remark by an out of touch senior; it’s a confronting reality. Phones and social media have colonised almost every facet of our existence. A Not to mention the reckless introduction of artificial intelligence threatens to deprive us even more so of living a ‘human’ existence.

 

The problem with the dependence on social media and phones in the modern age is its rapid commercialisation. I remember the era when Youtube was a wildly entertaining, albeit chaotic, platform that pioneered creative content and audience engagement. Now, most social media platforms have become nauseating vacuums littered with advertisements, bots and artificially created content. 

 

When MBA graduates and corporate CEOs realised the money making potential of these platforms, it spiralled into a black hole where everything could become a scheme for revenue and date collection. The problem now is that advertisements are implicit. Content creators and ‘influencers’ cleverly mask their promotion through informal presentation and manipulation of the seemingly parasocial relationships which many fall victim to.

 

Media as a whole is in a state of crisis. Since being the Oxford Dictionaries word of the year in 2016, ‘post truth’ has become worryingly commonplace to the point of blind acceptance by many. Verification of facts and objective research have been trampled by the desire for virality and an insatiable thirst for likes and clicks. It’s hard to know which outlets to trust, especially when so much news is consumed through unstable algorithms that prioritize superficial consumption over nuanced engagement. 

 

With a decline in newspapers and magazines, it’s difficult to get a holistic view of what’s happening in the world when most platforms are trying to capture attention as fast as possible rather than present objectively what is happening. The embrace of news through digital media presents a somewhat inescapable: news content has to compete with attention grabbing platforms, whilst still trying to present facts and detail.

 

A decay of media is a decay of culture, and a decay of culture is a decay of our own humanity. The loss of physical media has certainly left a void. People don’t own their own media and the art of discovery is lost when met against overpowering algorithms that desire to feed our biases rather than nurture our curiosity. Media that prioritises commercial profit over rigorous analysis also compromises our democracy, obscuring important information in order to incentivise corporate greed.

 

Isolation

 

A major issue gripping many young people is loneliness. This is not random but by design, even if such design is carelessly enforced without any crucial awareness. Living in lockdown during the formative years of cognitive development and socialisation definitely influenced a spike in social anxiety and a lack of confidence in general social distraction. Social media has only compounded this.

 

With the cost of living crisis and decline in third spaces, there is less incentive than ever to go out. Friendships, entertainment and even dating can all be done with a phone, so why waste time paying money to leave the house? 

 

Organising social events can feel like a burden rather than a natural and consistent occurrence. A common catch cry that has been circulating social media is that, “the cost of community is inconvenience”. The problem with a culture of instant gratification is that it provides less incentive to actually put in effort to socialise, however it sacrifices a fundamental part of our existence. Socialising can be annoying and tedious, however it is unquestionably something that most people need.

 

The problem with a lack of face to face interaction is that people are spending more time on harmful algorithms, engaging in parasocial relationships and consuming content designed to promote conflict and provoke fear through controversy. It is no secret as to why there is a spike in mental illness.

 

To make matters worse, greedy AI companies are attempting to capitalize on this loneliness, creating apps in which artificial intelligence can replace the need for a friend or partner by artificially generating one.

 

Digital interaction has its place. It can give voice to outcasts and can foster community when limited personal circumstances fail to do so.However, it is not an alternative. It should merely serve as a platform to facilitate greater face to face interaction.

 

In-person interaction has been an essential part of our existence since time immemorial. How embarrassing to be the  first generation that lets this human necessity become unnecessary and leave it to  die. It is how we connect, how we mobilise, how we affect real change. 

 

Far too many people are living their lives through a screen and that very screen distorts real life by exposing volumes of white noise and trash designed to boost algorithms and obtain ad revenue as opposed to fostering real human interaction. Loneliness can be as harmful as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day and therefore, work must be done to confront an epidemic now commonplace in the post covid era.

 

Looking to the Future

 

 I wrote this piece two hours after a tutorial I had in which my tutor said something that really stuck with me. 

 

He spoke of two kinds of people, those toxically positive about everything and those completely cynical with defeatist attitudes. He said that these people were at opposite ends of the spectrum, but that they were ultimately the same.  In taking such extreme positions, both of these people could find comfort in there being no need for them to pursue any action or work towards a greater goal.

 

Finally our tutor made a point that I think will stick with me forever: to have hope is to live with uncertainty. Hope is not a straight objective thing that can be executed and simply ticked off a to-do list It is an ongoing process. Those who maintain hope do so with doubt, with fear, with anger. As engines driving action and connection - not conflict and loneliness.

 

It is easy to feel like all hope is lost in the current landscape. Social media compounds the worst things happening in the world and sells it in an easily accessible package. Rise in mental illness, increasing wealth disparity, endless war, extreme violation of human rights and government corruption.  So, how do we find the motivating power of hope in all of this?

 

Good doesn’t occupy our algorithms or TV’s, because inherent good does not seek marketability.

 

Good functions, not for likes or streams or revenue, but for the sake of good. There is good all around us, it just isn’t always apparent with the filth that is sold on our screens.

 

But there are always things to be optimistic about. Just look up.

 

Social media and dating apps are seeing a steady decline. Predatory streaming companies such as Spotify are facing boycotts by serious artists due to their malpractice, raising questions about the future of music. Physical media is seeing a comeback. People are looking for socialisation through run clubs and daytime parties. There is definitely a thirst for social connection. 

 

I think we are beginning to realise that much of it is not sustainable and that change is needed if we want to consume media in a way that is nuanced and meaningful. I am not a luddite who thinks all technology should go away, but I do believe a better approach is needed.

 

For many people my age, it can be easy to feel robbed. 

 

Hearing of older generations, how ‘sociable’ they were and how much fun they had; but that time has passed. 

 

We are the first generation to experience these types of issues, but we are not the first generation to experience issues. If anything, we must utilise these challenges to mobilise and take action. 

 

We must seek to build a better future that does not repeat the mistakes we are seeing now. There is still time to affect great change and really question the decisions of those in power.

 

It is by no means easy, but it is never impossible.

 

It can feel grim. It can feel unfair. It can reek of desperation. But that doesn’t mean we don’t try.

 

In the words of Gandalf: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

 

Sebastian Conidi