Grab and go

Watching television, as well as reading a newspaper, are part of the daily habits of boomers, almost automatic gestures that satisfy a natural and healthy appetite for information that school and the education given by parents have sown with patience and intelligence since early childhood of the generations born between 1946 and 1964.
Those were the main means through which to form an opinion on the facts, to look into the history of a world that seemed distant and often unattainable, to fantasize about unknown and unexpected realities; a good deal of trust was given to them and reference was always made to them on occasions of debate or in the expression of different opinions. In the face of current perspectives, that world appears almost simplified to us, apparently perhaps simpler, certainly more curious and fascinating because a little mysterious, not at hand and certainly not just a click away. If you wanted to experience its charm, seduction, risks and dangers you had to do it in person, there were no alternatives or shortcuts, you set off with your backpack and finger raised upwards at the edge of a road and began the journey. A declaration of autonomy and self-determination that satisfied with a simple gesture, a wind of freedom that began to blow as soon as you closed the door of the house behind you. In the era of globalization they seem and are like distant times, atmospheres forgotten and buried in the memory, practically unknown by the new generations, gestures of protest and rebellion that today appear in some ways almost romantic.

But it didn't end there. Picking up and leaving, on average with very little money and a backpack on one's shoulder, often without a precise destination, was not just a gesture of defiance against conventions and good habits, but was a real moment of rupture, first and foremost with the chain of relationships and affections, family ties above all; all supported by a great absentee in the pre-digital era... the inevitable umbilical cord of the mobile phone. Today's fashions, habits and many insecurities are played precisely on that game. You don't watch TV and you don't believe in it, newspapers are an obsolete practice and both impose practices of use that are far from the habits of the new generations who, instead of following and choosing the chain of "official" information, are followed, chosen and submerged from the infinite sea of social media. “History” is the first victim of this system because in these virtual places it can be easily manipulated, domesticated and often distorted, but the credit enjoyed by the platforms is constantly growing even among older generations. Selective reading of the news and the comfortable refusal to listen to the arguments of the "enemy" (those who don't think like me) are widely widespread practices among all groups of users of the new media, only to then complain about the polarization of society and thought single dominant.

Just turn on the TV one evening, take a quick look at the news, public and private, to get an idea of how far the information is now from reality but most likely it is not in the infinite readings of social media, ready, cooked and cooked for every type of palate, which is reflected transparently as the images make it appear.

Michelangelo Dotta
NP January 20224