The way we view current events is largely influenced by social media. Apps like Twitter and Instagram allow the swift spreading of information, but also interaction with the news in creative and humorous ways. However, before this widespread use of and access to the Internet, news was pretty much exclusively formatted in newspaper or article form. There wasn’t much outlet for creativity and comic relief. Now, pretty much anything viral will be turned into a meme, regardless of how serious the matter of discussion is. For example, Kanye’s 2018 “slavery is a choice” comment quickly became a trending topic on Twitter with memes like the ones below flooding our timelines.
This makes me wonder what past events would have looked like if people then had the social media we have now. Specifically, Woodstock. This free music festival welcomed more than a million people from around the country and has been dubbed the epitome of “sex, drugs, and rock n’roll.” If Twitter was a thing back in the 60s, this is what I imagine our timelines would have looked like:
Although this event was not so politically charged, it was an outlet for people to let loose and have a wild three days away from the turmoils of the 60s. It seems now, with the world being at our fingertips, its much easier to share our opinions or whereabouts or random thoughts. This convenience enables almost flawless interaction between people in various parts of the world. Those who grew up Pre-Web did not experience this convenience. I think this is how Woodstock attendees would Tweet had they had the Twitter experience.
Works Cited
History.com Editors. (2018, March 9). Woodstock. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/woodstock.