“The View From the Phlipside” is a media commentary program airing on WRFA-LP, Jamestown NY. It can be heard Monday through Friday around 7:30 AM. The following are scripts which may not exactly match the aired version of the program. Mostly because the host may suddenly choose to add or subtract words at a moment’s notice. WRFA-LP is not responsible for any such silliness or the opinions expressed. You can listen to a live stream of WRFA or find a podcast of this program at wrfalp.com. Copyright 2013-18 by Jay Phillippi. All Rights Reserved. You like what you see and hear? Drop me a line and we can talk.
Programs from the week of June 3, 2018
This Week’s Podcast
My name is Jay Phillippi and I’ve spent my life in and around the media. TV, radio, the movies and more. I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion. Call this the View from the Phlipside.
Teens and Technology
There’s a new study out that will confirm everything you already think about teenagers and smartphones. So let me warn you in advance, after I tell you that everything you think is right, I’m going to tell you why you’re still wrong.
The folks at the Pew Research Center have released a survey they are calling “Teens, Social Media and Technology 2018”. It’s not a particularly catchy title but it is clear and concise. The survey was based on information gathered between March 7th and April 10th of this year. The research folk define teens for this survey as people between the ages of 13 and 17
One of the things that jumps out at me is that since the last survey of teens and their technology (about four years ago) smartphone ownership has jumped significantly. According to the data, 95% of all teens either have their own smartphone or have access to one. My bet is that matches your perception. It certainly matches my experience working in a school district in central Virginia. Smartphones are everywhere.
So, as I said, all your beliefs are reinforced by actual hard data.
And here’s why I’m less concerned than you are. When asked if social media has had a positive or a negative effect on their lives, 45% said neither. And I think they’re right about this too.
You see, I remember all the things that were supposed to destroy American youth over the last century. Jazz, comic books, and transistor radios all had their day in the sun. And let us not forget television. As a member of the Baby Boomer generation, I remember endless cries that all that staring at the boob tube, hour after hour, was going to turn our generation’s brains into tapioca. We survived, and based on what I see in school, I’m pretty sure they will too. Did we watch too much TV? Probably. And this generation could probably stand to spend a little less time online. But then, so can their parents. Excessive time doing anything can be harmful. At any age.
What I see in school is plenty of personal interaction that is built on the framework of social media. That’s a lot more interpersonal involvement than Boomers ever got from watching TV. So by that measure at least, smartphones are better for teens than television ever was.
As long as we’re still willing to look up from our devices then we probably don’t have a problem. At least not yet.
Getting Creative
In a day and age when movies and television seem to have mostly given up on trying to find something new and are content to simply continue making the same movies over and over again, it’s interesting to see that the theater is still willing to climb out on a limb.
There’s a new show that is making its world premiere in Los Angeles that is trying something a little different. The show is called “Soft Power”, and the storyline is a little complicated. As in Variety.com says, quoting now “To even try to describe “Soft Power” is to court madness…”. It’s a musical inside a play, that involves the classic Broadway musical “The King and I”, a political fundraiser for the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, an assault with a knife that results in a fantasy musical which features a Chinese movie director and, well, Hillary Clinton. Big production numbers then examine everything from politics to McDonald’s and guns. You can begin to see the problem here. The show stars Conrad Ricamora, best known for his work on the recently renewed ABC series “How to Get Away With Murder”.
Like the introduction of a full-on Broadway rock musical with “Hair” in 1968, and “Hamilton” changing the way we look at American history, the theater periodically decides to try something different. Meanwhile Hollywood and the broadcast networks crank out yet another comic book universe movie or police procedural. Since Stephen King’s “It” remake was a success last year, Tinseltown is reaching back to remake another of the horror master’s movies. You can look forward to a reboot of “Pet Semetary” late next summer.
There’s an underlying problem here that is the real problem. The number of people who are willing, let alone able, to try and do something different and interesting has never been particularly large. That’s why we recognize them as the artists and great talents that they are. The problem is that we, both the audience and those of us who are supposed to be offering intelligent commentary, keep looking for “the next”. Who will be the next Beatles? What will be the next hit series like the Marvel universe, or Lord of the Rings, or Star Wars? And you find that mindset beyond the world of the media. Who will be the next Michael Jordan?
I am far less interested in who the next Beatles are than what is being done that brings a new look to a familiar idea. I am undecided on the whole “there are no new ideas” trope, but the truly creative types are always trying to find a different approach to the usual concepts.
And it’s nice to know that someone is still out there trying.
Failing at Social Media
If there is a general rule in life, it’s that we get better at things the longer we do them. This is the essence of music and sports and pretty much everything else. In our jobs, it’s expected. If you don’t get better at what you’re doing over the course of time, you can expect to be on the sidewalk with all your belongings in a box.
So I am stunned at our ongoing inability to navigate through social media. And yet, year after year, we see people incapable of making their way through social media without blowing themselves up. I’m not even talking about the mistakes made by teenagers. They are still in learning mode in life in general. While the mistakes they make in social media can have profound negative impacts on them, I can at least understand where those mistakes originate.
But the recent spate of career-damaging mistakes coming from grown-ups who should know better is astounding.
The latest two examples are stunning in their stupidity. Roseanne Barr had made a fabulously successful return to television with a re-launch of her ’90s television show. Despite, or because of depending on your point of view, some controversy the show was a solid top ten performer in the ratings, renewed for another season. At which point an ill-considered tweet brought the world crashing down on her and everyone associated with the show. The show is canceled and it appears her agent has terminated their relationship as well.
Meanwhile, in the NBA, the president of the Philadelphia 76ers is the center of a story that he has multiple anonymous Twitter feeds. A report in “The Ringer” says that the accounts were used to praise himself, criticize players and other officials on his team and around the league. The team is investigating, and at the moment it appears it may have been his wife. The whole thing may still cost her husband his job.
And there’s no reason for it. By now everyone should have figured out that social media is a serious place. That it can destroy lives. But some people insist on believing that they can game the system.
The best advice I’ve ever heard is from former NFL player and coach Herm Edwards. When in doubt, don’t press send. It’s utterly simple and utterly foolproof. Before you send anything out on social media, take a long look at it. Think to yourself “How will people react to this? Can I live with that reaction?” If the answer is no, then delete it and move on.
But if you hit send, be prepared to accept the consequences. We’re way past the point of excuses.
Call that the View From the Phlipside
Copyright Jay Phillippi, 2018
Theme music for “The View From the Phlipside” and “TVFTP – Podcast” is “Hustle”
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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