I always wondered who declares a third world war – is it the UN, NATO, or the uncle who hijacks the park bench? As we speak, about 32 countries in the world are at conflict with other countries. The US-Israel attack on Iran is turning out to be a season of WWE SmackDown. Iran, meanwhile, is bombing Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait. A large number of countries worldwide are going through deadly crises. Even our neighbours, Pakistan, are at war with Afghanistan.
Surprisingly, it doesn’t feel like it. Just a few decades ago, armed conflicts of this scale would have dominated the papers and news channels. As a journalism student, I would constantly refresh news websites to keep track of what was happening. There was a certain anxiety that global conflicts carried with them. None of that is true in today’s times.
We consume our news on social media today. Memes fly faster than missiles, and reels have replaced news debates. On the surface, it might seem shallow. But perhaps the younger generation has found a way to cope with global conflicts using humour as a coping mechanism. Maybe we live in a post-truth world, where feelings are more important than facts. Where ‘what happened’ is eclipsed by ‘how one feels’ about an event. There is no Iron Dome for opinions. Every opinion, from every corner of both sides of the fence – is published.
If world leaders thought they’d strike fear in people’s hearts by declaring war, they couldn’t be further from the truth algorithm. People consume their speeches as reels, memes and trends. You see images of a missile striking, followed by a cat that is thick friends with a dog. Trump’s ultimatum to blow up Iran is followed by a reel of Jackie Shroff asking folks to plant trees. Putin warns Ukraine of dire consequences, but with a flick of your thumb – you’re now watching an ad for a mattress that’ll help you sleep through the apocalypse. Of course, there are still old-world social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), where people still clash with sharp opinions. But they have been reduced to a minor, bickering minority.
Earlier, we had ‘war specialists’ who participated in debates on Live TV. These esteemed gentlemen spoke in complicated terms and charts. Today, you don’t need a course in world affairs to post an opinion. You need a phone with a decent processor, references that connect with followers, and a sense of humour. My friends who couldn’t point to Iran on a map share stories about uranium enrichment. While the younger generation has kept itself emotionally insulated, the older generation continues to spread everyday panic among themselves. My family WhatsApp groups have been in panic mode since day one. Iran’s troubles cannot hold a candle to the carcinogenic elements in rotis. The Strait of Hormuz might control 20 per cent of the world’s oil needs, but my family is convinced that biofuel dung should replace LPG in our homes.
(The writer’s views are personal)