Zinaida Lobanova How “Experts in everything” devalued experts 05.29.2024, 08:01

Now, if you can explain the quickest way to hammer a nail or cross a “high-ranking” street, then you’re an expert! You can open your own courses, gather people, earn money.

I first encountered this about ten years ago, during the heyday of the banned Instagram network (its owner, Meta, is known as an extremist and was banned in Russia). Girls appeared there who specialized and taught, for example, posing. There was a series of lessons on how to properly puff out your lips in a frame, where to look, how best to bend and stick your ass out. If you think it is that simple, you are wrong. Not every girl can take a sexy selfie when she needs to lie on the beach and show off both her breasts and her ass. No matter how hard I try, I always look like a flat croissant. This is where experts come to the rescue! So who else? They are models with photographers and plastic surgery classes. And a simple girl from Biryulyovo is her own photographer, teacher of plastic arts, make-up artist and hairdresser.

I once interviewed applicants for a financial literacy program. They were looking for young people who were “friends” with money. A 15-year-old girl came and immediately said that she was an investment expert: she helps build a financial portfolio, and also has her own course on proper investing. And he sells this course not to his family, but to anyone who wants it.

I still remember when it was necessary to have the necessary training to comment on conflicts in the Middle East. If we answer the question of how the military escalation of the conflict would affect oil sales, then there had to be economic education as well as basic education in eastern research. But that was a long time ago, people were still watching television and there were only three programs. There were no experts, there were experts. The fact is that a specialist is a qualification that a student acquires after completing a special training program. This is an accurate definition. An expert may be someone who decides that they understand this issue. Here, superiority is at your fingertips.

In general terms, we can say that this is a period when terms begin to lose value.

It’s a shame for the psychologist profession. Can trust (which is already scarce) be restored after so many psychologists from social networks make diagnoses based on avatars at all hours of the day? Boys and girls of unknown origin lead clubs, seminars, webinars, courses, walks in the mountains, swimming in lakes, promising psychological relief from problems. And that’s all – psychologists.

We also know that a good psychologist is a healer of the soul. This is a profession that takes a long time to learn and develop. But for some reason really good professionals do not hold online webinars promising to solve problems in one session.

The same loss of meaning occurred in the word “open”. Of course, no one now uses this word in the sense in which it was once used, regarding a specific chemical. solution – developer – the film was placed where it was “developed” in complete darkness.

There has now been a transfer of meaning and “manifestation” has become about the person wanting to be noticed and visible. There is even such an expression – “wanting to be manifested.” I wish they had said this in the 80’s. In the last century, others thought they were talking about the movie. To be “manifested” in relation to a person meant that a movie with his image was waiting for him.

“Being open” now means going to an expert on your own brand and a psychologist and analyzing your “character design” to eventually become more important to your friends and others. But before, a guitar, port wine and a cheerful mood were enough for this.

Can something be done about the loss of value of concepts? Probably not. This is a natural process. This has happened before. For example, when “perestroika” and “glasnost” appeared. As a result, even processes that were far from their original meanings began to be referred to with these terms. But speeds are now several times higher, so the words “blow up” are rapidly losing value and… And we can wait for this to end.

A well-known example of this is the phrase: “The boy glued a model together in the club.” The general meaning of the sentence has changed completely since the 60s. from the last century to the 2000s. But for Generation Z, there is no clear understanding of “a young man easily meets a tall girl.” For Generation Z, the word “model” no longer necessarily means a tall girl with Claudia Schiffer’s characteristic features. The concept of “model” has now returned to the modeling business.

So it’s likely that “jack of all trades” will soon be replaced by new concepts. When everything is finally revealed.

The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the position of the editors.