Our Very Modern Dilemma

As a member of the Woodstock Generation I understand that I am super cool, very smart, and wise in the ways the world; we all are. But lately I have been noticing that I am totally out of touch with the current zeitgeist. Like many things, this is both good and bad. 

It's good because until now I have been blissfully ignorant of the waste of time and talent rampant among the younger generations. I spend very little time online, visit almost no websites and thus have no idea what they are doing all day besides listening to music and playing video games. I write my blog, check my email and see what my son has posted, then I'm outta there. Playing Words With Friends, which I truly consider to be good for my brain and a way to stave off Alzheimer's, is an exception.

But there's another one. I post photographs on my Instagram page that usually garner a few "likes". Lately my account has been flooded with videos, called "Reels," which I watch with mouth agape: Who are these idiots and why do I want to see them do anything? It's scary and often quite embarrassing, especially the fat ones dancing badly and the ladies applying face make-up, as if we don't already know how.

As happens when you venture down a bad road once too often, I got stuck in a rut and started watching one particular guy on Instagram who cracked me up. He posts videos of himself talking to his French bulldog, and I'm a sucker for that breed. Anyway, I started following his account just to see him and his dog argue; they are so funny! And the guy is so talented and witty, I wondered if he is a famous comic. So I googled his name and found out that it's different from the name shown on his account. Turns out he isn't the clever one at all -- he is simply lip-synching the comedy routines of a true stand-up comic. 

With some research I saw that many other people are lip-synching the very same vocal material, only with pairing it with different faces and situations. WTF? So today I googled "lip-synch for Reels" and found dozens of tutorials on how to do it! And dozens more on how to make a great Reel or TikTok video. This is how our young people are spending time now. 

As for why it's bad: This might explain why many disturbed young men are arming up and shooting at random groups of people. Life has become an empty, fake, photoshopped joke where dinosaurs like me  are still running things because we are the last of our species still in possession of functioning brains, even when they don't function that well. (Joe Biden, Maxine Waters)