Attitudes can be hard to define in other people and more so in generations. However, changes in attitudes are easier to recognise even if the events that cause those changes are not.
That preamble suggests that I am falling into an old guy’s habit of philosophical reflection. In a way I am. but I am exploring a subject that concerns all age groups. A subject that causes me to wonder what the world will be like for my grandchildren when they reach their senior years.
A good twitter friend in the group of writers that I follow was in the habit of publishing a few positive quotations each day. He is a great supporter of new writers and in over a year, I have not seen him publish anything negative. Despite being well mannered, amusing and considerate, he received a critical comment from someone about his positive quotes. In social media, discussions about certain subjects – particularly politics – can quickly degenerate into a toxic soup of nasty comments. That is unusual in the group of writers and generally well-behaved people we interact with. Surprised by the unexpected comment, he decided to hold a survey.
The results were disappointing. 37% of respondents thought he was a bad person for spreading positivity and gratitude. More than those who thought he was a good person. When the scores of those who thought he was good or normal were added together, they were higher than those for bad but not by a lot. It was not a scientific survey, but the result does reflect a shift in attitudes. That prompted further reflection and this post.
Shifting Attitudes
That experience and my own observation of the lack of tolerance for any views slightly different to the accepted norm indicates a major shift in attitudes over the last 15 to 20 years – the Internet and social media age.
Is technology to blame for this change in attitudes, lack of tolerance and inability to entertain thoughts or ideas with which one does not agree?
I do not think so, media are just that, they do not create the message. However technology allows messages good, impartial, biased, prejudiced and bad to be broadcast instantly and globally in ways never seen before.
The self censorship by “professional” journalists in the pre-social media era is largely absent in blogs, on-line magazines, email newsletters and social media. In a scramble for survival many of the old style media have aligned themselves with causes or a political orientation that is as far from neutral or fair as a Zimbabwean election result.
What Changes Attitudes
The real drivers of the changes in attitudes are certainly complex and difficult to identify. As history repeatedly shows us, the timing and nature of major shifts become easier to spot years after the events themselves. Perhaps because we are living through these changes right now, it is difficult to know when they started or their causes.
One theory is that it is a further manifestation of the pendulum effect which I wrote about in this post and is well documented in the book by Roy Williams and Michael Drew.
The question is; Do attitudes shift according to what the media chooses to publish or does the media publish content that accurately reflects public opinion? Certainly some of both. Are there master manipulators quietly exerting influence to start trends and shift attitudes? Undoubtedly.
The WWII Effect and Baby Boomers
What do WWII and Baby Boomers have to do with changing attitudes? I believe quite a lot.
My generation, the Baby Boomer generation, is the last generation to have had parents who served in WWII or were old enough to remember it. The parents of the youngest members of our generation may have been young children when the war ended but they would have recollections of the post war late 1940s and 1950s.
Both of my parents served in WWII, my father in the army, my mother the RAF. Most of my childhood friends had a parent, or uncle who had served in the military or in a civilian capacity connected to the war effort.
Most of us in Europe and later, Southern Africa, were brought up on a diet of war stories, the horrors of war, patriotism, duty, courage, resilience, sacrifice. I understand that it might have been a little different for those in North America who did not have the same experience. We were spared the worst stories. It was treated as the reality it was, neither glorified nor swept under the carpet. It was the last truly global catastrophe. The cold war, Middle Eastern conflicts, natural disasters, tragic as they were for those directly involved, affected relatively few people.
The Younger Generations
Growing up, my sons who are now in their 40s, occasionally asked about my parent’s involvement in the war. But it never became a frequent or detailed topic of conversation. It was too far in the past for them to have much interest in the details. It is unlikely that my grandchildren will even know or be interested in knowing that their great grandparents served in WWII. We left Rhodesia when my boys were young children, they have no memories of the terrorist war that affected our lives at that time. At times they have shown some interest in learning about my experiences in that conflict. However, I don’t expect they will pass much on to their children.
Attitudes to Church Attendance
In sync with the fading from memories of WWII, church attendances have been declining. With few exceptions, the average age of congregations at most denominations is rising, Churches are closing at an increasing rate as their members succumb to old age and too few younger people join.
There are exceptions, some community and non-denominational churches are holding their own or growing. Service clubs in many areas are following a similar trend. As older members leave for any reason, clubs are unable to attract new ones to replace them.
For centuries, churches have been a moderating influence on society. That influence has not always been completely beneficial and at times even harmful. Churches and the standards of behaviour they have encouraged have held the social fabric together.
Conclusion
It’s fair to conclude that attitudes have changed. Some changes have been good some not so good. I have difficulty in reaching a conclusion for the causes, therefore I will end with some questions and thoughts.
Are dwindling church attendance and service club involvement causes or effects of changing attitudes? I believe both.
Did the shadow of WWII and by extension WWI have a moderating effect on attitudes for most of the remainder of the 20th Century? I believe it did.
Will the power of social media to influence attitudes continue? Yes, however, I believe that platform owners will increase the subtle censorship they are already applying in an attempt to find a balance between moderation and free speech. I doubt they will get it right and different platforms will display different biases. National governments may try to control social media as the Zimbabwe government recently did during widespread protests.
Will attitudes continue to shift? I think the pendulum needs a few more years to reach the end of its swing then it will start the return to more “normal” times. The authors of the Pendulum book believe 2023 is when that will happen.
What do you think? Leave a comment below.
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