Jeff Bezos inches closer to becoming Pitbull pic.twitter.com/jY3QtXiLwK

— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) January 1, 2022

 

What will be the biggest story in 2022?

It’s obviously too early to call, but looking at the last months of 2021 tells me that it’s going to be a wild year. The last two years, we were mostly focused on the pandemic, but who knows, maybe we will return to our old normal in 2022?

But what is that going to look like?

Are we going to talk about climate change, racism, and sexism? Or are we returning to gossip, memes, and sh*tstorms? What kind of normal are we trying to get back to? What are the topics that really matter? And why should we care?

It looks like billionaires, the Royals, and politics are on the list of what to watch out for in 2022. It sounds like gossip and memes, but I am sure these topics will somehow relate to climate change, racism, and sexism.

Which billionaire is going to create the biggest sh*tstorm in 2022?

Is it going to be Jeff Bezos trying to look like a rapper? Is Elon Musk going to insult Liberal icons like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren? Or is Bill Gates making a return to secure a spot as the most-hated billionaire on the planet? Not to forget Kim Kardashian—is she going to fly to space with Pete Davidson?

And what about the Royals?

How amused is the Queen going to be in 2022? Is Prince Andrew going to jail? Did Prince William have an affair? And why does the tabloid industry hate Meghan Markle? And most importantly, which celebrity is going to take sides with the Royals after Piers Morgan poorly attempted to do that in 2021?

And if that wasn’t already enough, there will be another election in 2022.

There are two types of elections: there are elections where everyone accepts the results, and there are the ones where losers claim to be winners. In Germany, we had a pretty smooth transition of power in 2021, but it would be an understatement to say that the transition of power went well in the United States.

I won’t be surprised at all if this American drama continues during the midterm elections in 2022. Does anyone expect fair campaigning and both sides accepting the results? I don’t.

But I am already wondering how the Republican Party is trying to drive me nuts in 2022. Is Kyle Rittenhouse going to run? Is Lauren Boebert going to be even more racist this year? And how is Marjorie Taylor Greene going to try to destroy democracy?

And, of course, the big question above all: what is Donald Trump going to do?

Maybe all of these stories connect at some point?

Imagine Jeff Bezos registering his businesses on the moon to avoid taxes. Imagine Elon Musk taking sides in the midterm elections. Maybe the Queen and Donald Trump start a campaign against Cancel Culture?

Not to forget the love life of the American Royals—the Kardashians. Maybe they can give some advice to their struggling British counterpart? Maybe Meghan Markle starts a clothing line with one of the Kardashians to support liberals?

It all sounds crazy right now, but imagine doing a time travel to 2018, telling yourself what happened since then.

My biggest wish for the upcoming year is that we shift our focus. Let’s finally talk about the stuff that really matters.

What about the mental health crisis caused by COVID-19? What about climate change causing wildfires, floods, and human suffering? What about our political culture that reminds me of professional wrestling these days?

Instead of complaining about the decline of our society, let’s do something about it. Let’s be of benefit. Let’s shift the conversation.

Let’s encourage billionaires to work on making the world a better place. Maybe there is a thing or two that went wrong in how we treated Bill Gates the last two years? He spent billions of dollars to help develop vaccines and fight poverty—but some Karens accused him of participating in Satanism.

Billionaires, Royals, and even politicians don’t wake up in the morning saying to themselves, “How can I destroy the planet today?” Their actions might look different, but I have to assume that somewhere deep inside, these folks also want to feel loved.

So, maybe we can encourage these folks to do the right thing? Maybe we can celebrate folks for doing the right things instead of dragging those who made mistakes through the mud?

Maybe we can even shift the public conversation by changing our own behavior? We talked a lot about evil algorithms on social media, but what if I told you that we have the power to change them?

Every click counts. Every share matters. Every discussion creates attention. Let’s keep that in mind. It’s in our hands.

The algorithms want us to spend more time online, but they actually don’t care what we do. If we care more about climate change and social justice than we care about the relationships of celebrities, the almighty algorithms will change accordingly.

We trained these algorithms to feed us with stories on billionaires, Royals, and corrupt politicians, but what if we teach them to deliver content that actually matters by actually clicking on it?

And for those of us who really want to make a difference in 2022, let’s start using our own voice.

Elephant Journal is here to be of benefit. We are here to help you to be part of the change that we all want to see. We want to hear your voice.

Being of benefit doesn’t mean that we never again talk about celebrities, but it requires taking a look at the parts of a story that actually matter.

And that’s our common challenge for 2022—deciding what actually matters.

As mentioned earlier in this article, every action matters. What did you click on today? Are you going to share this article on social media?

Or maybe even write your own?