Social Media Violence In Fahrenheit 451, By Ray Bradbury

Teenagers running through the streets, crashing cars, killing others for fun.
In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury portrays teenagers as a disaffected and desensitized generation, who are apathetic to the world around them and consumed by shallow forms of entertainment. This is shown through characters like Mildred, Montag's wife, who is not necessarily a teenager, but is completely absorbed in the "parlor walls" and has little interest in real human connection. According to Pew Research Center, 73 percent of Americans use social networks to access their news. This means that 73 percent also have the possibility of being exposed to unfiltered, unchecked news outlets. So how can our current society have contributed to this possible dystopian future? In this piece, I’m going to be comparing the effect phones and social media are having on teenagers, using an article from The Argo, “Is Social Media Making Us Numb to Violence?” and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Instead of learning, they are constantly bombarded with mindless entertainment, which numbs their minds to the world around them. In comparison, the article suggests that the constant broadcasting of violent images on social media may be desensitizing society to the real world. “As Nitz-fa Dimanche (I) explains, “It becomes so overwhelming at times and other times I don’t even notice when I’m numbingly watching violence. It’s a scary time to have those images of violence to not be as shocking or terrifying.” Videos of graphic police brutality were especially distressing to many people, particularly Americans, and led many people to log off and avoid social media altogether.” (The Argo, 2021). The article argues that social media has made it easier for sensitive images to spread, and constant exposure to the content may lead to society becoming numb to