You might not watch pornography, but if you have an Instagram, you are definitely seeing porn. It’s soft porn, but it’s porn nonetheless. There is no question about that. You cannot open a social media app without seeing suggested content of women exposing their bodies, posed in scandalous stances. What is it about social media that encourages this type of behavior? Why are women encouraged to take their clothes off?
I think the answers to those questions begin with what I call “flat-screen syndrome,” which is something I made up during the George Floyd riots. Flat-screen syndrome is a condition in which someone justifies their behavior by citing someone who did something that offended them. For example, when a black man dies and police are involved, people say, “I’m a black person, I’m upset this happened to someone I don’t even know, and because of this, I’m allowed to run into Target and steal a flat screen TV.” They think that even though they’re behaving poorly, no one should reprimand them because someone else did something to offend them. Basically, it excuses bad behavior.
.png)
.png)
