Nosedive Reaction Post

The Lonely Reality of Social Media

Photo Credit: Google Images

     In the Nosedive episode of the television show Black Mirror produced by Netflix, the character of Lacie is socially awkward and can only relate to other people with the use of social media, which is a common problem. Her behavior seems almost immature and that can be attributed to the fact that she is so reliant upon social media and the internet for everything in her life. Social interaction has taken on a new form and it is almost robotic in nature. There is no ability to generate spontaneous conversation or even interact without any kind of handheld device prompting her. It develops into a problem, which affects a large portion of the population. In fact, the millennial generation has experienced a social media addiction that may even be as harmful as drugs or alcohol, according psychology lecturer Tony Roa.

     The goal of hitting a 4.5 rating becomes an obsession for Lacie, so much that it forces her to stifle her true emotions for fear of receiving a bad rating. Her world is prioritized on her online rating and can be deemed as a type of fantasy world that is only a distorted form of reality. This is seen in many instances when people value likes on social media. I even had a friend who has 5,000 Facebook friends, but wound up spending his birthday alone. He received countless birthday wishes online, but not a single real-world invitation. One solution would be to cease all social media activities, although removing social media from one’s life induces something called FOMO, which stands for fear of missing out. FOMO is diagnosed as a real problem for many people who go through social media withdrawal. And much like the character of Lacie, their preoccupation with social media has forced them to miss out on much of what real life has to offer.

    The world of social media has alienated a lot of people so that they are more socially inept than any previous generation. I have seen numerous people sit right alongside one another and fail to acknowledge their existence because they are so engrossed in their phones. I have one friend who appeared to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown because she was without her phone for a couple of days. This is emblematic of the way Lacie seemed lost when she did not have an adapter to charge her car. And when she asked real people for help, their response was to simply ignore her. There is a painful irony in the fact that she would have probably gotten friendlier responses online and that is the world where she chose to spend the majority of her time. Consequently, that was the ultimate cause of her nosedive in the episode.