TECHNOLOGY & SOCIAL MEDIA
Over the course of the last decade, we’ve seen a fantastic selection of work on a huge variety of different conflicts and topics related to them. Below you will find a selection of pieces entered into our international competitions, by young people from around the world. This mini series is a good starting point when considering the many different ways conflict can affect people’s lives. We hope you will dive deeper into many of the topics and learn more.
Please be aware that the information below touches on topics related to war, conflict and its effects. It may therefore not be appropriate for all audiences.
A NEW AGE OF TECHNOLOGY
Modern technologies such as robots, drones and cyber attacks have intensified warfare, creating new risks and modes of destruction. Along with these changes, comes a rise in social media, catalysing a world lacking empathy and sensitivity, often increasing violence.
It is too easy to look and stare,
And to wish whilst you glare,
That you were the person on the screen
But what does that really mean?
We walk past different people every day,
And our opinions of society constantly sway.
Screens make our warped reality more distorted
That we trust pixels more than what we have recorded.
Everything glows brighter on a rectangle
the shimmer and shine of all the bangles.
Skin flawless and pretty and perfect
Not a single pore left unchecked.
What we seldom see is the shoes they walk in.
The weight of silent battles that those laces hold within.
The miles walked and crawled that you’d never know,
Because the shoes aren’t shown.
Walk a mile in their shoes,
And maybe you wouldn’t choose
A life so obviously altered
To fit media that is painfully faltered.
the shoes aren't shown
- Latifa (14-16, england)
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
The poem was written as a reference to the current day influence that social media has on the development of empathy and character growth on today's youth. Latifa, I, find that social media has been normalised as a place where everything is true and where young adults should reference for important things, such as political information, information regarding self expression and identity and also how people are expected to interact with one another in real world. With many influencers and public figures only posting the positive and amazing parts of life and the world it can very easily damage the growing picture that developing minds are still creating of the world. Many teenagers are easily influenced, which is expected due to our hormones, as social media makes it so much more dangerous as teenagers grow up and enter the real world with quite unrealistic pictures of the world. This mental substandard image of the world impacts the way that young adults treat people in society and therefore their ability to empathise. The Stockdale and Coyne study of 2020 is a psychological study that discussed how the increase use in social media can result in lower empathetic ability.
outside the frame
- CHAeyoon (16-18, South Korea)
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
In times of war, the media claims to place us “in someone else’s shoes.” Yet the shoes we are invited to wear are carefully selected. When politicians and victorious soldiers are highlighted, war is framed as success and strength. But when the child is highlighted, the same war reveals its destruction and human suffering. Through the contrast between grayscale reality and selective color, this work questions how empathy is constructed. We do not experience conflict directly; we consume it through screens. Our understanding is shaped not by the whole story, but by what is framed, highlighted, and repeated. Whose perspective are we truly stepping into? And more importantly, who remains outside the frame?
seen yet forgotten
- yoonjin (14-16, South korea)
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ARTIST'S STATEMENT
For my artwork, Seen Yet Forgotten, I aimed to comment on the desensitization to what has been happening around the world today. As scrolling culture becomes a looming presence for every individual, it seems that a lack of empathy has begun to increase. By detaching ourselves from real-life occurrences through a thin layer of glass—our screens—it becomes more difficult to connect with others and fully understand what transpires daily in other parts of the world. War and violence have always been an ongoing reality, relentlessly ending millions of innocent lives and destroying homes in the blink of an eye. Under ideal circumstances, social media would be a tool to learn about global events. However, just one barrier separates contrasting experiences of the same world, one in relative safety and one in struggle. This has left us aware, yet disconnected from the lives behind them. Therefore, I wanted to illustrate the stark contrast between the depth of someone’s life and how their most significant moments can be reduced to a single image online among millions of others. I hoped to carefully acknowledge how we can be more initiative and take action rather than simply nodding and recognizing harsh truths.
the burden it doesn't carry
- Ike (14-16, USA)
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
My Great Grandfather, Howard Isaac (Ike) Jordan died on August 7th, 1944 in the Hedgerows of Normandy. He had only seen his daughter, one year old Sharon Wilson once before his passing. On March 25th, 2011, Cham JoEun (Ike) Rottmann was born, completely unaware of the history of his name. The only knowledge he had of Ike Jordan was a Purple Heart and a photo, both encased in beautiful golden frames. For many, it feels impossible to comprehend the experiences brought by war and conflict. For me, I saw war as a video game, nothing more than cool guns and leveling up. I couldn’t understand what it was truly like to make the final sacrifice, or even be willing to. Perhaps truly understanding what it means to live a tragedy is impossible, but maybe respecting and learning from our past isn’t. Maybe I should look to my Purple Heart as a reminder, a symbol of the need for peace, instead of an old, dusty, relic of war.
military drones
- ZiWen (16-18, china)
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
We live in a world where war and conflict are bound to happen from time to time, and I want my artwork to show how disconnected people have become from the real impact of modern wars. In my artwork, a drone is controlled by a video game controller, and hovers over a once-prosperous homeland, targeting children and families who will bear the true cost of war. New technologies such as military drones, despite looking like remote-controlled airplanes, are in fact dangerous weapons and can destroy people’s lives and homes. My solution to prevent future wars and conflicts is to create interactive experiences that immerse people in the realities of war, just like my artwork. I want to educate people by letting them experience these stories firsthand through art, simulations, and interactive experiences, and change the way people view modern war. People will be able to truly understand the devastating damage drones can cause to people's lives through these immersive experiences way better than simply reading about it or watching the news. I believe that educating people, especially the younger generation, can start valuable conversations, change people's perspectives, and inspire people to work together for peace in the near future.
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