A STORM IN THE TWITTERSPHERE
At the most disturbing extreme is the intensely misogynis- tic and terrifyingly influential Andrew Tate, while, further from the fringe, figures like Jordan Peterson are also concerned with the condition of young men. In my view, while Peterson and so many others focus on what they see as the male need for power and strength, they overlook one of the great problems that, in my view, men face: the lack of emotional freedom. When we constantly ask who is dominant, rather than focusing on personal connection and empathy, personal relationships are, I believe, in danger of being poisoned. The problem of loneliness is not exclusive to men. Given that we are social creatures, it is no wonder that the mod- ern loneliness epidemic has such a devastating impact: in an evolutionary sense, loneliness is equated by the body with death, as in a hunter-gatherer society the survival prospects of an individual isolated from the group are very slim. Behavioural science tells us that we are deeply driven to seek out the company of others, not for mate- rial gain but simply for the comfort offered by physical closeness. Loneliness is terrifying because we need the presence of others to acknowledge our experiences and recognise our individual identity. As Crooks notes in Stein- beck’s Of Mice and Men : ‘It’s just bein’ with another guy. That’s all.’ There is clearly much more work needing to be done than I have room for here, in order to form a wider picture of my generation. My attempt at sketching a portrait can only be partial, based on limited knowledge and sub- jective experience. No doubt my personal experience impacts my perspective in a profound way which I cannot ignore. Nonetheless, I find comfort in acknowledging that while there is deep discontent in my generation, there is also a quite beautiful, tentative search for a better, more human way of living. ◎
Each generation is faced with the task of deciding how to find meaning in life. I am convinced that people yearn above all else to believe that their life means something. As Viktor E. Frankl argues in Man’s Search for Meaning : ‘Those who have a “why” can bear almost any “how”.’ The pronounced yearning of this generation is unsur- prising. The promised ‘community’ of ‘social’ media has turned into a cold nightmare that turns people into curated avatars. One small way in which people have recently been attempting to imbue their lives with meaning is via the trend for ‘romanticising’ your life, whereby people take steps to be more conscious of the ‘casual magic’ of ordinary moments. I think this can be incredibly useful. One way of overcoming banality is to learn to appreciate the everyday wonders of our world. However, this approach, too, has pitfalls: some things should not be looked upon with rose-tinted spectacles, and the quest to find beauty in the world often piles yet more pressure on those who cannot afford the life that is being sold as romantic. The promised ‘community’ of ‘social’ media has turned into a cold nightmare that turns people into curated avatars Another key way in which our generation understands the world is through the study of power. Those coming from a socially liberal position rightly, in my view, emphasise the need to acknowledge the ways in which people are op- pressed and disempowered. However, while empowering people to achieve their individual potential is one of the noblest enterprises there can be, we must acknowledge, too, the danger of defining yourself by your powerless- ness. More conservative voices also focus on the politics of power, often highlighting the disempowerment of young men in particular. I think it is right to recognise that society has an ‘angry young man’ problem, and that many feel lonely, useless and, perhaps most tragically, emotionally voiceless. Jimmy, an earlier British poster boy for male discontent, voices this anguish in John Osborne’s 1956 play Look Back in Anger, saying : ‘I learnt at an early age what it was to be angry – angry and helpless.’ In our own times, we have only to look at the American Capitol riots to see the effects of failing to address this discontent. Fig- ures on the right voice legitimate concerns about fractured masculinity, but they often propose unsettling solutions.
The internet provides a haven for the opinions of self-appointed ‘great men’ but we need to listen with caution, says Kit Parsons (Year 12)
Y ou cannot surf the modern internet without Shapiro, Jordan Peterson and Andrew Tate, who have gained huge renown by communicating their ideas to a carefully cultivated community of listeners, transforming themselves along the way into a recognisable and influen- tial source of online discourse. Although social media pro- vides, in theory, an egalitarian platform for all, it has also vastly increased the extent to which such figures can play a leading role in affecting our stream of information. For better or for worse, any wealthy or famous individual can now hop online and spout their beliefs directly into the ears of millions of followers worldwide. One such vastly wealthy talking head has, within the past year, purchased the largest information-sharing platform in the history of the planet. Instead of driving forward the thoughtful exchange of views, Musk fuels hot- blooded reactions, polarisation and chaos coming across so-called ‘thought leaders’: men from across the political spectrum, including Ben In 2021, Elon Musk was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. Explaining this choice, the magazine’s editors remarked upon how affected modern society is by ‘the pursuits, products, and priorities of the world’s wealthiest people’. Two years on from this, it is clear that Musk has not rested on his laurels, or remained within his previ- ously comfortable territory of electric vehicles and Mars rocket-launch attempts. Far from it: 2022 went on to be the year in which he cemented his place in the ranks of the most recognisable people on earth, mainly thanks to the saga of his ultimately successful attempt to purchase Twitter, which extended over almost seven months. Musk
had toyed with purchasing the platform since 2017. On 14 April 2022 he placed a shock bid of US$54.20 (the 420 reference was widely considered deliberate) for every share in the company, totalling US$43 billion of his own money. Buyer’s remorse quickly set in for Musk, who then attempted to escape the deal, claiming ignorance over Twitter’s bot population. He was promptly sued by the company, after which he proceeded to purchase the social media site, with just days to spare before the court date last October. Much has been written about Musk’s fluctuating personal wealth, though it exists mostly in company shares. How-
Photos taken by Dorian Todd-Miller (Year 10)
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THE ALLEYNIAN 711
OPINION, INTERVIEWS & FEATURES
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