Road sign depicting a UFO abducting a cow.

Eleri Rice

The news of a UFO congressional hearing sparked online conspiracy, prompting the question of whether our existential worries include extraterrestrial life.

Given that the modern world involves so much online dissection and discussion, there is increasingly more and more space for conspiracies to run rampant, not to mention the widespread curiosity or panic that can manifest as a result.

All kinds of peculiar people have found a space to share their thoughts, for better or worse, and what better subject to captivate the masses than the reported discovery of non-human life?

Conspiracies and Misinformation

Alongside suspicions that COVID-19 was a distraction by the US government, QAnon theorists have claimed that reported UFO sightings were intended to distract from the so-called “Big Lie” pushed by President Donald Trump, that the 2020 election was stolen from him. The prominence and influence of these theories are the result of an increasingly online society. Communities may be seeking to form new connections between global events, and even new realities.

Twitter is rampant with those conspiring both for and against recent news about potential extraterrestrials. A search for “UFO sightings” brings up numerous videos of unidentified objects, skylights, and suspicions of government cover-ups.

Much panic stems from a lack of trust in governments to properly inform the public of these global developments. During the coronavirus pandemic, Trump claimed he had the situation “under control” and reassured voters that the virus was “disappearing”. This caused widespread mistrust, and some were inclined to delve into online discourse rather than trust mainstream news sources. In this respect, the likelihood of radicalisation increases.

Existential panic

“We have such little control over catastrophic events as individuals, we feel a sense of existential dread.”

During a congressional hearing on UFOs, former US intelligence official David Grusch claimed that non-human biological materials were discovered at crash sites. This news has made a large percentage of the public anxious for various reasons. When processing information on events we have little control over, it’s normal to start questioning our place in the world. Climate change has a similar effect. We have such little control over catastrophic events as individuals that we feel a sense of existential dread.

 Unfiltered access to information from various online sources elicits a sense of dread or panic as we are currently experiencing. It’s fair to assume that most people will act out of emotion, given that a seemingly endless stream of blog posts and social media threads encourages this kind of response. Prioritising citizen well-being and protection, as well as increasing public access to approved academic resources, could reduce these worries.

Not-so existential panic

“Alien updates are not being taken as seriously in comparison to issues like financial struggles, the environment, and housing crises.”

In other pockets of the internet, attitudes are far less anxious than expected. Past the realm of existential panic, these extraterrestrial revelations have been met with apathy, especially from those whose concerns lay elsewhere.

Alien updates are not being taken as seriously compared to issues like financial struggles, the environment, and housing crises. This is especially evident among younger generations. Platforms such as TikTok with a predominantly teenage demographic are abundant with content poking fun at the situation, or simply dismissing it. Seemingly, lots of young people agree that there are already plenty of important things on Earth to focus on right now.

It doesn’t help that younger generations are becoming desensitised to shocking content. Their indifferent attitudes might explain such a drastic difference in reaction to the UFO hearing and subsequent news headlines.

Online political activists have used the hearing as an opportunity to highlight what politicians should prioritise instead. The cost of living, housing crises, natural disasters and so on are usually at the forefront of this discourse. UFOs do not seem to be at the top of our collective list of priorities. Instead, we should focus our attention on the immediate problems within our reach.

Getting our priorities straight

Ultimately, it seems that newer, more attention-grabbing worries deflect from mainstream concerns rather than adding to them.

Even within my own social circles and online algorithms, the hearing is only mentioned briefly, and in a satirical tone. The discussion almost always circles back to social and political issues. People do not typically express their concerns about paying taxes in the same breath as considering the existence of aliens, it’s usually one over the other.

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Featured image courtesy of Bruce Warrington on Unsplash. No changes have been made to this image. Image license found here.

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