During this week, during the day I am working on a study related to the education of children, parents and online service providers in the safe and responsible use of digital services. During dinner, of course, I am following with the curiosity of a sociologist the progress of the flamingo protest. By reading and observing, it is not difficult to find some arguments that I would like to share with you in this week's note, which are certainly related to the permanent conflict of generations, finding the culprit and often avoiding the language that makes communication difficult.
As usual, in front of the young people who fill the square, it is often us adults who do not understand very well what is happening, or simply pretend not to want to understand. We say that “young people spend a lot of time on the internet”, we see it as something separate from everyday life, and this is our first mistake. Young people live part of their lives on the internet. In Albania, according to official statistics, almost all young people aged 16–29 are online every day. 98% of them use the internet for social networks. TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and WhatsApp have become part of their daily routine. Being online is no longer a separate activity from real life. Through this activity they are not simply passive; there they communicate, get informed, create social relationships, follow the news and public debate online. For them, the internet is part of everyday life. We think that they waste time on social networks, but now for them these networks have become public spaces. Like the steps of the palace, the schoolyard, the faculty café... for our generation. For today's youth, social networks are the places where public discussions take place. It is now easily recognizable that in these spaces young people develop debates, pay attention to public issues, share their opinions and even organize their activities very well from there. Their online life is just as important as their offline one, so just like joys, victories, appreciations and exultation, protests and public reactions will also naturally appear online.
I mentioned it a week ago in the previous post. We can accuse young people as much as we want, that they don't have the right vocabulary, that they express their thoughts with two lines or a meme, that they would rather take a picture than write a sentence... well, this is their language, and tell me the truth, whether we like it or not, we can't help but admit that they are agreeing with each other about beauty, and not only that. But let's get to the point now: there are some simple truths that we should repeat to ourselves. Remember an expression that we were often told: Repetition is the mother of knowledge😊
First, technology is not our “fault.” It can spread a message, even very quickly, but it is not technology’s fault if young people feel the need to protest. So, before something goes viral, it has to exist, and before it becomes a meme, dissatisfaction is a reality. You don’t put out a set of photos of girls with pink flamingos for three weeks in a row, even if they are the most beautiful, even if they are influencers.
Secondly, the "desert" algorithms that we are talking about so much... they suggest content that you can follow on social networks, favor topics that seem to be of interest, but an algorithm does not shape your opinion and then your conviction. An algorithm can make a problem very public, but it cannot "invent" a problem.
One more thing: we've treated young people like passive subjects with a cell phone in their hand!
This is our biggest mistake. Young people are not victims. They are active, they choose what they follow, they want to believe and be believed, they create content. They are us, ten, twenty or thirty years ago. They simply have a different language, different questions, and much more information than us. It is their time and the stage should be for them. And our attention, to understand, oppose, accept.
We need to encourage critical thinking in them, the ability to discern misinformation, but please... let's not treat them as ignorant, clueless, powerless. And even worse, let's not lie to ourselves that they are being lied to by an algorithm.
If we want to understand this protest, we must, as with everything else in this life, look at the reasons that push people to react, to treat those we face as equals and with dignity and a right to speak, not just the technology they use to organize. Simply put, blaming the algorithm, which we hear so loudly mentioned by adults who are hiding behind their fingers, is a simplified and almost banal, not to say hopeless, explanation for a much more complex social phenomenon.
