Tomorrow is ‘International LaLaLaLaLa I’m Not Listening Day’
April first brings with it an inevitable rash of hoaxes, pranks and parodies. Whether it’s the local zoo’s switchboard gets jammed as people try to return calls to Mr. L.E.Fant, news snippets of zombie attacks in Cambodia, or the pink ‘zOMG Ponies’ overhaul to the news for nerds site Slashdot; this is the day when you have to doubt, mistrust and outright ignore most of the information that comes your way.
April fools day is a downright annoying day. If you aren’t already contending with fact-checking the news that’s coming your way, or trying to navigate sites that have had a ‘humourous’ overhaul that have rendered it garish or unnavigable, then your are drowning in a wave of phone calls, emails or instant messages that are either trying to fool you, get you to help fact check something, or send you to whatever item gave them a chuckle.
I think it’s an important cultural event. April Fools acts as an important annual reminder that we shouldn’t just take the stories that come our way and treat them as gospel. That a little critical thinking and scrutiny is required. And it gives an excuse to all the institutions a chance to let their hair down and not take themselves so seriously, even if for just one day. Personally, I wish people to take a bit of the examination and critical thinking skills they employ on April Fools and use that year round.
But as for me, I think I’ll be unplugging for much of tomorrow. Mark all the feeds in Reader as ‘read’. Skipping all the email. Just ride it out until it all gets sorted out on Wikipdeia.
