What qualifies as an opinion? Where is the line between objectivity and subjectivity drawn? Even if there are answers to those questions, they don’t necessarily identify the value that any opinion may have.
Ideas that qualify as opinions are things that most — if not all — people have, yet most opinions do not have a large or devoted enough group of believers to matter. Because of this lack of a consensus, change rarely occurs.
Only in specific instances where the collective voice of the population is powerful enough do opinions matter, such as when Donald Trump was re-elected as the 47th U.S. President, which was the second time a presidential candidate served two non-consecutive terms, or when the players of Battlefield 6, a game that has been hailed as a return to the original, realistic Battlefield experience, pressured Activision into removing skill-based matchmaking, a long-despised feature in multiplayer modes, in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.
While these were pivotal events in the political and gaming sphere, they were caused by years of neglect that angered enough people to form a consensus for change. Nonetheless, most opinions exist aimlessly, nothing ever coming about as a result of their existence.
The source of this problem lies in the constant access to information that our society possesses. As people have gained access to a greater amount of information, they have subsequently become desensitized to non-pressing cultural issues — ultimately deemphasizing the importance of action. If someone is dying in a foreign country, people are less likely to care than if their neighbor was just murdered last night because of a lack of empathy.
If you acknowledge something, it does not mean that you care about it, and knowing about some distant conflict that the news is barely covering will not change your mind.
This problem worsens with the younger generations who are more consistently exposed to the internet and the litany of opinions about social issues, economies, cultural topics, etc.
A constant exposure to these opinions is bringing about the normalcy of apathy. With a wholly apathetic society, no change can be made at all because no one is motivated to do anything.
Our society has already reached a point where major cultural events take years to bring about actual change, with very few exceptions.
So if your opinion doesn’t matter, why have one at all? Is it better to live happily, or live in fear of World War III as political tensions rise in the East? It is highly unlikely that living in fear of political tensions will amount to much in the long run. Narrowly focusing on current events is not only taxing on your mental health, but it shuts your mind off from discourse.
You have to think of the larger picture of historical events. History often repeats itself, and rising political tensions become sidelined, or they are solved through diplomatic or military means.
The Russo-Ukrainian conflict is a perfect example. Not only has the main conflict dragged on since Feb. 22, 2022, but multiple NATO countries have poured in money and supplies because of public demand, with some positive outcomes for Ukrainian forces, but not enough to end the conflict. A large-scale land invasion to rival World War II becomes an exercise in futility. Supporting Russia or Ukraine will not change the outcome of the war because the mass media circuit has reduced its coverage of the war for several months now.
Essentially, you are too small to matter, so why should you care at all? If our society is already growing apathetic in response to major events, then why should you waste your breath flaming someone online because of their opinions? It is what drives division, which has caused significant fractures in our culture to prevent real change.
All you have to do is relax, take a deep breath and gain a sense of your surroundings. Do not become fixated on the next hot topic; otherwise, you’ll miss out on the better aspects of life, like enjoying your childhood, college career, raising a family and feeling accomplished with a sense of purpose.
There’s a reason why people tune out of mainstream culture because it does nothing but suck you into its big, endless vortex of despair.
Killian Netherton is an English and psychology junior and opinion writer for The Battalion
