#NoMoreHashtags

At some point in everyone’s life, I think we’ve got to #putourfootdown on something. For me, that something is the #hashtagEpidemic that’s killing the way we #communicate. In the last few years, the rise of #twitter and the introduction of #hashtags on #Facebook have given rise to some obnoxious and dishonest advertising techniques that only hinder the dissemination of news and make people less likely to take #causes seriously. While I understand that every generation, not #only90skids, has had some kind of moral panic about the cheapening of media, I believe that this is #somethingextraordinary. Whereas in he past, the #panic was about the medium being cheaper or faster, today it’s about the news no longer being news at all.

#IntheNews this week, a number of #trendingtags popped up to remind us of the anniversaries of tragedies. They garnered enough #support either from media outlets or #Facebook users to warrant appearing on the main #feed, but ultimately, none of the articles had any #content. Every one of them merely read “#WeRemember this thing happening, and it was sad” or “This past event was an #outrage and we have done nothing since”. Moments later, there was #silence. There was no further #outcry or #protest. Everyone shrugged and said #maybeNexttime, just like they did when the tragedy happened in the first place.

I believe that we are so inundated with #causeless causes that it’s impossible to pick the baby out from the bathwater. Every #tragedy gets a #protest. Every #anniversaryoftragedy gets a #protest. Every #secondcousin of a tragedy gets a #protest. In fact, if something isn’t a #tragedy, then it’s probably an #outrage. What if the baby has long ago been #dissolved by the #highlyAlkaline bathwater and nothing is left but a murky pool of #blackwater unfit to be disposed of in public sewers? As far as I can tell, reputable news sources would have a code of #ethics that says something about #gaming the public’s attention, but even the biggest, most prestigious players are participating in the #trend. Since this is the #metric by which I assess an outlet’s credibility, I no longer #believe that there are any credible outlets at all. We are left with a bunch of unreliable #sources which would rather lie to us and make more #money than stay off the #bandwagon and preserve their integrity.

This wouldn’t be possible #withoutOurHelp, either. The #epidemic is as much the readers’ fault as it is the publishers’. Even though we know the #businessplan isn’t sustainable for most of these outlets, we have allowed them to #bubble into the writhing #ballofworms that they are today, and we’re thanking them for it. #People are now #grateful that the internet has allowed them to #participate in these un-protests over non-debates. They will fling themselves at whatever #cause pops up next under the pretense that it means something to them, only to forget it mere days later. It has become a satisfying process in the users’ lives, filling a void that used to be reserved for #soupkitchens and #dogshelters.

On the flip side, it is now #unfashionable to be ignorant of the #hashtags. People who aren’t up to date on the latest unsubstantiated #controversy are mocked as ignorant, which pressures them to participate in the feedback loop that is #hashtagjournalism. Even those who make a conscious effort to #ignore the deluge of worthless info are pulled into it even when they’re away from the computer by #friends searching for #discussiontopics. There is #noescape.

#Humanity, we don’t need this treatment. #WeDeservebetter from our news and we deserve to choose what we care about and genuinely mean it. We need to stop allowing ourselves to be lied to. We need to pick our battles and our causes on a case-by-case basis and make a conscious effort to stand by them. There’s too much ignorance in the world already, and the next hashtag campaign against ignorance isn’t going to do anything appreciable about it. It’s time to stop talking about doing, and start actually doing. Maybe more importantly, don’t do it because someone told you to, do it because you’ve examined the long term goals and decided that what you are doing is right. Fixing the world takes commitment and will, not a few seconds and 140 characters.

Don’t forget to #like me on #Facebook and follow my #twitter and #instagram on #followfriday. If you get the chance, why not browse my #pinterest? I’ve got some cool things there, plus a link to #subscribe to my #youtube page. Jergling is a freelance journalist who depends on a constant stream of income from #Patreon and needs your donations to survive! Please #donate and #share this with all of your #friends. Check out my #etsy for #profanity themed collectible mugs and beanies!