Page 208 - Cascade I SHPS School Magazine 2024
P. 208
BHAGYA A P
XII B
INTERNET INDUCED
MOCK DEREALIZATION
hat on the internet is real anymore? internet, I saw someone likening it to a ‘collec-
WI certainly cannot say with any more tive consciousness’ and that has got to be the best
conviction than I can tell apart hyper realistic way I’ve seen it being described. It perfectly sums
cakes from fakes. Mindless scrolling may have up the utter chaos that it—well, most of it—
irrevocably tampered with my ability for this, inarguably is. But as Bo Burnham expertly
especially after the pandemic that made had most observed in his song ‘Welcome to the Internet’
of us resort to compulsive doom scrolling. At (that I highly recommend), “Apathy’s a tragedy
least the internet teaches you a thing or two about and boredom is a crime! Anything and every-
respectful behavior in community spaces and thing all of the time.” When we are constantly
how to be more open minded. It is not all bad even barraged by varying degrees of brutality and
though it may have turned me more indecisive insanity— half of which is satire—at the same
with all the million alternatives it offers in any time, it messes up with our ability to process
given field, the amount of unasked content I am them. It is like building a up tolerance. The first
forced to see or the same old content the algorithm time we see people making unwarranted, out of
keeps feeding me. It just has its fair share of pocket claims on the internet, we feel rage, an
obscurities. uncontrollable urge to lash out and knock some
The internet: a place where you are subject sense into the person—mind you, who could
to a never-ending supply of unhinged content absolutely be anyone, of any age, anywhere.
from around the world. In the same breath, we Though, once we’ve seen it all, it no longer fazes
scroll past horrific communal clashes to healthy us. Far worse could be happening. We’ve reached
breakfast alternatives. Today, on the very same a silent agreement that there is no limit. After
208 Cascade
