Two weeks ago, there was an assassination attempt on Trump. His initial response led to a fervor at the Republican Nomination Convention a few days later. The media, pundits and politicians on both sides predicted a landslide victory for Trump in the 2024 election. It felt inevitable – especially after the entire country had just witnessed Biden’s obvious cognitive issues during the debate.
Then, just a few days later, Biden withdrew from running for a 2nd term and pledged his delegates to Kamala Harris. Within 24 hours, videos of Harris looking young, vibrant, energetic, competent, articulate, joyful and exciting began trending. With a few days, enthusiasm for her took over social media with her campaign announcing record donations, going on the offensive against Trump and pitching her as the candidate to beat Trump. I must admit, even I was swept up in the moment. It’s the first time I felt hopeful about the 2024 election in a long time. And notably, I have never liked Kamala Harris as a candidate.
When something new is trending on social media, the entire online world chases after it like kids chasing a soccer ball. It dominates social media, news feeds, forums, podcasts, search results and traditional media making it seem ubiquitous and inevitable. Pollsters and pundits go into apoplectic fits making predictions and pronouncing “this changes everything!”
Probably not.
In a month nobody will even be mentioning it. Hell, in most cases, it will fade away and be replaced by the “next trending story” within 48 hours.
Whether it’s the 2024 election, the latest TikTok fad, or the latest gloom & doom prediction, I am not immune to getting caught up in the hype.
When I realize I am, I tell myself to breathe, pause and then wait a while to see what happens instead of reacting impulsively.
I can always jump on the bandwagon later, if it proves to be long lasting.