“The important thing is not staying alive—the important thing is staying human.” – George Orwell
María Camila Dávila (she/her) // Crew Writer
Kyla Seguiban (she/her) // Contributing Visuals
One of the most powerful communication strategies to divert attention from any problem is what is known as a “smokescreen.” When there is an issue that threatens the stability of society, maybe it’s a government or a public figure protecting their reputation or authority, or an individual that wants to divert attention from a bad situation. A popular strategy when these power structures are under fire, is to capture society’s attention and redirect it to something much more lighthearted and harmless, usually involving culture or entertainment.
Over time, the smokescreen became not only a public relations strategy, but also a defense mechanism that younger generations use to avoid facing the terrible disasters that the world is facing. It can involve the love life of a celebrity, the latest couples on Love Island USA, the most recent trends in fashion and lifestyle. It has now become a sedative against the amount of pain that the world is facing.
The most concerning situation is that, after hiding for so long behind the nonstop information that social media can give, some have forgotten there is an actual world outside their hiding spots. What we can call the “nonchalant culture” has taken over. Dance trends or the “clean girl” aesthetics, a trend that focuses on fresh and natural looks, are more relevant than the real-world issues.
According to research conducted by the Reuters Institute in 2025, young people between the ages of 18 and 24 consume news less frequently than older generations. This phenomenon is not only driven by the shift from traditional media to social media—where misinformation is also widespread—but by a declining interest in news among younger generations as well. The Institute found that only one third of those who participated in the research (equivalent to 35 per cent) reported being “extremely” or “very” interested in the news, contrasting with the 52 per cent of other age groups.
In the article People are turning away from the news. Here’s why it may be happening, it is stated that a lack of knowledge and apathy towards what is happening in one’s own country and around the world “has negative implications for democratic participation and political knowledge.” Even though watching the news can be considered less appealing than scrolling through social media, we have a responsibility to stay informed and take action—whether by voting or even by talking to our parents over dinner—to contribute to a better country and a more harmonious world. Disinformation is one of the most dangerous phenomena because it makes us vulnerable to manipulation, fake news and even apathy toward the lives of others.
In addition to feeling disconnected from their own communities, one of the reasons behind this growing disconnection between young people and the news is the negative emotions that news coverage can evoke. As stated in Young Adults and the Future of News, young adults feel “scared and confused.”
Experts also talk about the “news fatigue.” A 71 year old male in the UK that participated in Overview and key findings of the 2024 Digital News Report stated that “The sheer volume of information is overwhelming. We can be left feeling helpless in the face of another remote disaster, leaving you feeling guilty an impotent.” The findings show that the feeling of sadness does not only happen among young people. However, adults tend to demonstrate a greater ability to cope with the negative emotions that the tragedies occurring around the world can evoke.
On August 10, 2026, there was an earthquake in my home country, Colombia. For an entire week, the news focused on showing how people and cities had been affected by the tragedy. I know this because my mom never turned off the TV, and we watched the horrifying images of buildings collapsing and people losing their homes, belongings and loved ones. Watching the news made me extremely anxious and helpless, and there were times when I really wanted to escape from reality and change the channel.
However, staying informed about the situation was one of the few things we could do if we were not near the affected areas. It was through the news that I learned about donation pages, places where volunteers were needed and blood donation centers. As a Colombian, I felt that my responsibility was to manage my own distress and anxiety about what had happened so that I could focus on helping those who needed it the most.
The French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas seems to have anticipated this situation. In 1961, his work Totality and Infinity was published, in which he argued that human beings tend to remain within the “sphere of the Same,” a state in which we focus primarily on ourselves and what is familiar to us. However, by becoming so immersed in our own lives and problems, we do not simply become disconnected from others, our indifference can also contribute to the suffering of the Other.
This situation demonstrates that there is a significant disconnection between young people and the problems facing society, which is often a deliberate choice. The “nonchalant culture” does not only reflect an uninformed younger generation, but also a deterioration of the society around us. How are people between the ages of 18 and 24 supposed to vote consciously if they do not know what is happening in their own country? If some young people are currently creating a smokescreen for themselves to escape reality, who will stand up for those who need us?