Summary
The spread of “nothing” on social media reflects Bauman’s liquid modernity, where superficial content spreads rapidly without offering meaning.
The spread of “nothing” on social networks directly reflects the concept of liquid modernity proposed by Zygmunt Bauman. We live in an era where everything is temporary, from our interpersonal relationships to our ideas. Digital phenomena often lack depth; These are memes, videos or single phrases that spread quickly, but without offering meaning with any purpose.
This “nothing that goes viral” represents the fragility of contemporary connections: we share on impulse, consume quickly and discard with the same agility – What acquires relevance is not what truly transforms or edifies, but what entertains ephemerally, sliding away your fingers like water.
The question remains: how do we consume and evaluate content? In a fluid world, where everything is disposable, is there room for the solid, coherent and meaningful?
Internet idols offer an illusory feeling of closeness and connection: by following their lives on screen, viewers believe they know them, creating an emotional bond that is often nothing more than a media construction.
This relationship, however, is one-sided. The idol does not know the follower and the interaction is limited to likes and comments, reinforcing the superficiality typical of liquid modernity. Nonetheless, these figures gain a significant space in the lives of their followers, who project onto them expectations and meanings that the idols themselves are often unable to sustain.
Each of us has a responsibility to ask ourselves who we choose to praise and why. Do we only applaud appearances and easy fun, or do we recognize genuine contributions?
Guy Debord, in his work The Society of the Spectacle, already warned that the value of an individual is often linked to his visibility, and not to his concrete contribution to society: “Our time, without a doubt… prefers the image to the . thing, the copy to the original, the representation to reality, the appearance to being”.
On social media this logic has been taken to the extreme: viral content can turn an ordinary person into a hero overnight. Ultimately, we need causes more than heroes. Because without purpose the applause is just noise and the pedestal is an empty place.
She is a headhunter, HR consultant, career mentor, university professor and LinkedIn Top Voices.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
