In the movie “Contact,” when Jodie Foster’s character goes to space and looks outside the spaceship, she whispers, “They should’ve sent a poet.” Although outer space is often described as spectacular, "Star Trek" actor William Shatner could only feel the deepest grief after going to space at the age of 90.
Representative Image Source: Blue Origins vice president of mission Audrey Powers (L) looks on as Star Trek actor William Shatner on Blue Origin’s New Shepard. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
In an excerpt from his book “Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder,” shared on Variety, Shatner details how visiting space led him to a profound awakening that made him look at the Earth and humanity in a way he never imagined. Shatner became the oldest living person to travel into space, along with three other crew members, on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space shuttle in October 2021. When the day of take-off arrived, he couldn’t stop thinking about the Hindenburg disaster, in which an airship crashed on May 6, 1937, in New Jersey, as per HISTORY. While his fellow passengers started enjoying the weightlessness by floating around and performing somersaults in the absence of gravity, Shatner was interested in something else.
Image Source: : (L to R) Blue Origin vice president of mission Audrey Powers, Star Trek actor William Shatner, Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
After decades of playing a character in a science-fiction show set in space, he had anticipated that his voyage into the cosmos would be filled with thrill, adventure, and a deep connection with the universe around us. He quickly floated to the window of the shuttle to gaze into the expanse and see what was out there, but felt surprised by his own reaction. Instead of seeing beauty, he was seeing “death.”
“I love the mystery of the universe,” he wrote in his book. “[it] has thrilled me for years… but when I looked in the opposite direction, into space, there was no mystery, no majestic awe to behold... all I saw was death.” He added that what he saw was “a cold, dark, black emptiness. It was unlike any blackness you can see or feel on Earth.”
He could see the “curvature of Earth, the beige of the desert, the white of the clouds and the blue of the sky,” and that, he said, was “life.” He saw the trailing hole that their shuttle had left behind in the oxygen layer and he felt sad. He realized how fragile Earth is, and that thought made him shiver. “Everything I had thought was wrong. Everything I had expected to see was wrong,” he added.
After he returned to Earth, Shatner found himself grappling with an intense grief that emerged within his heart after what he had witnessed. "I was crying," Shatner told NPR. "I didn't know what I was crying about. I had to go off someplace and sit down and think, what's the matter with me? And I realized I was in grief." He further wrote that initially, he thought that going into space would be the ultimate catharsis and a beautiful step toward a greater understanding, but it was nothing like that. “My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration; instead, it felt like a funeral.”
Image Source: William Shatner speaks on stage during a panel at FAN EXPO Chicago 2024 on August 17, 2024 in Rosemont, Illinois. (Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images)
There’s a scientific explanation for Shatner’s post-space-voyage emotion described as the “overview effect.” The term was coined by space philosopher Frank White in his 1987 book, according to NPR. "The overview effect is a cognitive and emotional shift in a person's awareness, their consciousness, and their identity when they see the Earth from space," White told NPR. "They're at a distance and they're seeing the Earth... in the context of the universe." According to White, almost everyone who travels to space experiences this “overview effect” that challenges their previously-held assumptions about life and the universe. An experience of space travel, he said, makes a person realize "the difference between intellectual knowledge and experiential knowledge."
Shatner told NPR that when he saw Earth from space, he wept because, from his standpoint, the Earth was dying. "It's a little tiny rock with an onion skin air around it. That's how fragile it all is. It's so fragile. We hang by a thread... we're just dangling," he said. After this powerful awakening, Shatner found a new purpose for his life. He told The Guardian, “My experience in space filled me with sadness, but also with a strong resolve. I don’t want my grandchildren to simply survive. I want them to be able to live long and prosper.” “I will do everything I can so that we can protect our one and only home,” he added, because, “the beauty isn’t out there, it’s down here, with all of us.”
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Why do some folks use social media but don't engage?
Psychologist says people who never comment on social media share these 5 positive traits
For over 20 years, social media has developed into a staple in many people’s day-to-day lives. Whether it’s to keep in communication with friends and family, following the thoughts of celebrities, or watching cat videos while sipping your morning coffee, there seem to be two types of social media users: commenters and lurkers.
The term “lurker” sounds equally mysterious and insidious, with some social media users writing them off as non-participants at best or voyeurs at worst. However, mindfulness expert Lachlan Brown believes these non-commenters have some very psychologically positive and healthy traits. Let’s take a look at how each one of these traits could be beneficial and see how fruitful lurking might be even though it can drive content creators crazy.
1. Cautious about vulnerability
Consciously or not, making a post online or commenting on one puts you and your words out there. It’s a statement that everyone can see, even if it’s as simple as clicking “like.” Doing so opens yourself up to judgment, with all the good, bad, and potential misinterpretation that comes with it. Non-commenters would rather not open themselves up to that.
These silent users are connected to a concept of self-protection by simply not engaging. By just scrolling past posts or just reading/watching them without commentary, they’re preventing themselves from any downsides of sharing an opinion such as rejection, misunderstanding, or embarrassment. They also have more control on how much of themselves they’re willing to reveal to the general public, and tend to be more open face-to-face or during one-on-one/one-on-few private chats or DMs. This can be seen as a healthy boundary and prevents unnecessary exposure.
Considering many comment sections, especially involving political topics, are meant to stir negative emotional responses to increase engagement, being extra mindful about where, when, and what you comment might not be a bad idea. They might not even take the engagement bait at all. Or if they see a friend of theirs post something vulnerable, they feel more motivated to engage with them personally one-on-one rather than use social media to publicly check in on them.
2. Analytical and reflective mindset
How many times have you gone onto Reddit, YouTube, or any other site and just skimmed past comments that are just different versions of “yes, and,” “no, but,” or “yes, but”? Or the ever insightful, formerly popular comment “First!” in a thread? These silent browsers lean against adding to such noise unless they have some valid and thoughtful contribution (if they bother to comment period).
These non-posters are likely wired on reflective thinking rather than their initial intuition. Not to say that all those who comment aren’t thoughtful, but many tend to react quickly and comment based on their initial feelings rather than absorbing the information, thinking it over, researching or testing their belief, and then posting it. For "lurkers," it could by their very nature to just do all of that and not post it at all, or share their thoughts and findings privately with a friend. All in all, it’s a preference of substance over speed.
3. High sense of self-awareness
Carried over from the first two listed traits, these silent social media users incorporate their concern over their vulnerability and their reflective mindset into digital self-awareness. They know what triggers responses out of them and what causes them to engage in impulsive behavior. It could be that they have engaged with a troll in the past and felt foolish. Or that they just felt sad after a post or got into an unnecessary argument that impacted them offline. By knowing themselves and seeing what’s being discussed, they choose to weigh their words carefully or just not participate at all. It’s a form of self-preservation through restraint.
4. Prefer to observe rather than perform
Some folks treat social media as information, entertainment, or a mix of both, and commenting can feel like they’re yelling at the TV, clapping alone in a movie theater when the credits roll, or yelling “That’s not true!” to a news anchor that will never hear them. But contrary to that, social media is a place where those yells, claps, and accusations can be seen and get a response. By its design, social media is considered by experts and the media as performative, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. Taking all of the previously mentioned traits into account, one can see why they would prefer to “observe the play” rather than get up on the stage of Facebook or X.
On top of that, these non-commenters could be using social media differently than those who choose to fully engage with it. Using this type of navigation, there may be nothing for them to comment about. Some commenters are even vying for this for their mental health. There are articles about how to better curate your social media feeds and manipulate algorithms to create a better social media experience to avoid unnecessary conflict or mentally tiring debate.
If you go on a blocking spree on all of your accounts and just follow the posters that boost you, it could turn your social media into a nice part of your routine as you mainly engage with others face-to-face or privately. In terms of commenting, if your curated Instagram is just following cute dogs and all you have to offer for a comment is “cute dog,” you might just enjoy the picture and then move on with your day rather than join in the noise. These non-commenters aren’t in the show and they’re fine with it.
5. Less motivated by social validation
The last trait that Brown showcases is that social media users who browse without posting tend to be independent from external validation, at least online. Social media is built to grow through feedback loops such as awarding likes, shares, and reposts of your content along with notifications letting you know that a new person follows you or wants to connect. This can lead many people to connect their activity on social media with their sense of self worth, especially with adolescents who are still figuring out their place in the world and have still-developing brains.
Engaging in social media via likes, shares, comments, and posts rewards our brains by having them release dopamine, which makes us feel good and can easily become addictive. For whatever reason, non-commenters don’t rely on social media as a means to gauge their social capital or self worth. This doesn’t make them better than those who do. While some non-commenters could have healthier ways to boost their self worth or release dopamine into their systems, many get that validation from equally unhealthy sources offline. That said, many non-commenters’ silence could be a display of independence and self confidence.
Whether you frequently comment online or don’t, it’s good to understand why you do or don’t. Analyzing your habits can help you determine whether your online engagement is healthy, or needs to be tweaked. With that information, you can then create a healthy social media experience that works for you.