World News • Opinion

What You’re Saying Doesn’t Matter

By Oscar Stowell ‘28 in Spring 2026

If you have been on social media recently, you know that it’s hard to miss the same recurring themes. The internet is overflowing with debates over artificial intelligence,“canceled” celebrities, or insignificant viral controversy. These topics dominate headlines and public conversation but are we paying too much attention to the noise and not enough to the issues that truly matter? Public discourse has increasingly centered around AI’s potential risks and benefits, too often focusing on less important matters such as student cheating or advancement in accessibility, and failing to center around, say, climate change, or societal injustice regarding AI. Similarly, “cancel culture” has become a societal fixation, with individuals and institutions facing intense scrutiny over past actions or statements. While it is important to hold celebrities accountable, and demand that they use their platform for good, it also distracts from the larger picture. These stories generate engagement, but they rarely lead to meaningful, lasting change. It might be interesting entertainment to discuss how Sabrina Carpenter reacted to a fan’s zaghrouta, (an Arabic trilling vocal sound used to express joy), but it is far from the most pressing matter at hand, especially when the singer herself has apologized and admitted that she was being insensitive. The focus on these types of headlines becomes increasingly frustrating when put into perspective with the most pressing issues of our time. Why are we fighting over the actions of Chappell Roan’s security guard when children are starving and dying in Gaza? Why are we focusing on kids using ChatGPT to help with their math homework when our current president is in the Epstein Files? Why do we care that Timothee Chalamet doesn’t like opera when the world we live in is actively falling apart? This isn’t to say that discussions about AI, social accountability, or cultural trends are unimportant. They reflect our real concerns and evolving societal values. However, when these conversations consume the majority of our attention, they risk drowning out deeper engagement with issues that have potentially irreversible consequences. It might be easier to talk about any of these surface level issues, but it holds us back from vulnerability and authenticity through discussion of much, much more pressing matters.  In a world overflowing with information, attention is our most valuable resource. Where we direct it will not only shape our understanding of the modern world, but the future we create. In order to shape our world for the better, we must shed the fear of genuine discourse and start having important conversations.