Also, kommen Sie raus aus Ihrem Realitätszentrismus. Schnell. Das Internet ist unser Neuland. Und Instagram eines seiner wichtigsten politischen Organe. Wie also kam es dazu, dass Justin Biebers Instagram-Account verschwand, und was bedeutet das für uns?
I’m not a real pop fan. I swear, I’m not. I may know a little more than I want to about singers like Rihanna, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande (who went to the same school as some of my friends, by the way), but that’s only because while surfing the Internet about politics, social sciences, philosophy and literature, I also inform myself about sports and pop culture.
Plus, I’m not the one who chooses to include articles about these people in between what should be serious news.
The quote above is from an article by Julia Friese on a German news site Die Welt reporting on Justin Bieber’s decision to deactivate his Instagram account (oh? You didn’t know? Well now you do. You’re welcome). I am sure the whole article is a farce, and that the writer is making a joke of this event, but uncareful readers may actually think that she is really concerned and wants to get across how significant this event is. Considering that Justin Bieber has had nearly the same number of followers as people living in the dictatorship state of Turkey, the reporter remarks that the loss of his account is like erasing Turkey off the map.
As if Justin Bieber’s ego needs more inflation.
And this is how German reporters share this news with German readers. Seriously.
I still think it’s a satirical piece, and the subtle message by the end is that if Bieber can live without his account, we all can live without one. I read the article to begin with, because I’m interested in reasons to stay with/leave social media (see “Shaky Streaming Quality” below).
Upon closer reading, what I see in this article is commentary on the power of the Internet.
Das Internet ist unser Neuland. Und Instagram eines seiner wichtigsten politischen Organe.
“The Internet is our ‘New World.'”(there’s thankfully more truth to this signifier than the first time it was used for N. And S. America). “And Instagram is one of its most important political bodies.”
You there, sitting in front of your screen, think this is insane (I figure you do, since you’re sensible enough to spend your free-time reading blogs like these). But what you maybe do not consider, is that 77 million + teenagers and young adults, those people who are up for some important political, medical, social positions in your future, are devastated affected by this. Should we be worried about these kinds of shifts? Maybe.
As a closing note, if you opened this post hoping for some information about the situation in Turkey -sorry. I can tell you that the people of Turkey do not deserve to be compared to Bieber Instagram followers (even if a few of them were), and that I’m extremely concerned about Euro- German-Turkish relations, especially given that people from Turkey and with Turkish heritage make up the largest minority in Germany and given the large number of Turkish-Germans who declared their loyalty to Erdogan not so long ago.
Just thought I’d post about this, this morning. I’m in the process of setting up daily routines that work for me, and so far, reading the news while listening to the RadioKlassik station and eating breakfast is something I’m enjoying. What, too snobbery for you? Deal with it. I’m reading about Justin Bieber for god’s sake. I can’t be that sophisticated. 😉
Hope you have a great day!
Wanderwolf 
It is scary how ignorant most people are of the shape of the world as it is, and how many get their “news”.
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True, that.
A good piece of advice once given to me was to read four different sources with clearly different biases, and then try to understand what actually happened in the world that day. There is no such thing as objective news.
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I loved this! A touch of satire yourself there, Miss Dorothea? ;D
I can’t stand reading the news on the Internet because of all the ads and pop-ups… surely there has to be a better way. And the paper and news media are painfully biased rather than informative, IMO. What’s a girl to do?
And poor impressionable children… they believe everything they read on social media, including my child. At one point he thought WWIII had started because of an article he read online. It’s sad really.
Hope you’ve found some good sites in which to stay informed! If they have a JB article, then you know they at least have a sense of humor! 😀 (and I wrote this all before my morning cup of tea and before I could form proper sentences!! Lol)
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Ha ha. Quite cohesive sentences before coffee, my dear. I don’t think I’ve tried to do the same.
The Internet is both a source of entertainment and fear. But in he end, it’s just a tool and we have to be smarter than the tool.
Your son is too funny. Though, WWIII has started in some respect, it just hasn’t been called that yet. But one really needs to be able to think critically to engage with people on the Internet… hope he continues to learn that!
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I meant to say, I’m sure he’s learning that from you and James!
And yes, I tend to get a bit sarcastic when it comes to certain topics… But I also am kind of young and silly and have a lot still that’s want to learn!
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*that I
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We’re trying! Believe me, we’re trying! 😀
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