The Great Flattener
Digital technology revolutionised global communications. But the homogenisation effect — as observed in music with the dispersal of tape recorders in the 20th century — soon took hold. Distinct local styles, craft, tastes, media, and language began to fade away. This phenomenon gained traction in pop culture following the 2024 episode in the TV series Atlanta, titled, ‘One People,’ when Darius gets lost in a restaurant that could be in any major city, suggesting how place-less the world had become. Academics now suggest the virality of this insight on TikTok led to a decrease in social media use.

Today, the social media mania of the early 21st century is described as The Great Flattener, a nod to how it affected cultures across the globe.