Psychology of the Masses and Social Media
We start from an Axiom: “The weaker we are, the more incomplete we are and the more we need” Social “Media.”
The telephone and the computer become an irreplaceable and indissoluble link to a universe of individuals and contents. So strong that sometimes we pay more attention to it than to who or what is around us.
Let’s try to understand what lies behind the exponential explosion of the “Social Media phenomenon”. What motivates us to post photos of what we do, what we eat, we in the mirror, as soon as we wake up, of our children, of cats …? Unless you post photos for the development of your work, but that’s another case that, however, affects less than 1% of all posts and photos that are published daily.
Do we really think that people care if we have been to the Maldives or if we have done this or that? … Just look at the “Likes” we receive and above all the comments on what we write. If I have 300 friends and receive 10 likes, most likely 6 of them have given them to me for “punishment” or as a subliminal message that obliges me to reciprocate (I give you one like and you will then give it to me)… If then I get 4 comments, maybe this is a more significant engagement but 4 comments and 10/20 likes out of 300 “Friends”, in the end, it means that nobody cares what I do.
The need/illusion to receive continuous approval, to feel part of a world that eagerly awaits my news is the essential element that has made possible the indiscriminate growth of Social Media.
On the contrary, if we are faced with an individual in perfect balance with himself, who does not seek confirmation and who does not need someone to feed his Ego … probably this person will not need Social Media … he will not have the need to post photos to show what he does …. he will not try to beg consents and “likes” … this person will also be uncomfortable for the system as it is very difficult to manipulate.
We can therefore safely accept the initially written axiom: “The weaker we are, the more incomplete we are and the more we need” Social “Media.
Social Media as a Collective Manipulation Tool
The Psychology of the Masses has been studied and is studied continuously. It is necessary to distinguish what is Individual Intelligence and Collective Intelligence.
If we took an Einstein and put it alone in his laboratory, he would certainly do great things … But if we then moved him to a Stadium, together with another 100,000 Einstein … his behavior would tend to adapt to the mass. If then through a large display board we made certain writings appear to be able to unleash the crowd … the 100,000 Einsteins would respond to that input simply because 100,000 brains to work “well” and in sync need a “leader”. Individual Intelligence is put aside when entering the cauldron of the mass. Leaders, through the manipulation of information, can shape their behavior as they see fit … The leader doesn’t necessarily have to be smarter. Must have other prevailing requirements. Lack of scruple, Determination, Charisma, access to sensitive information. These 4 elements are enough to be able to manipulate any mass, whether it is made up of Pulcinella (much more possible) than Einstein.
During the Nazi period, most of the German people were certain that the bad guys were the others… Through the manipulation of information, the Nazi propaganda machine had managed to make the German people believe that there was a superior “Race”. … Even “authoritative” German doctors, through the Regime press, affirmed and strengthened this belief in the people. All this mechanism fed itself day after day.
Consider that the means available to the leaders of that time to know the psychology of the masses was significantly reduced compared to today.
Today we find 4 main big Monopolies that store ALL our behavioral information: Facebook (which is also Whatsapp, and Instagram … but here, through this link, you can see how many other companies it has acquired in order to have access to our information), Google, Amazon, Microsoft … but in reality, everyone tends to store our data (Telephone companies, Service Providers, Hosting Providers … governments … etc, etc, etc)…
The problem is not if we post the photo of us naked (Facebook will care little about our naked photo … but it will still be kept and if we decide to enter politics … it can always be used by an opponent in exchange for a payment. ..), the real social problem is collective behavioral analysis.
Having understood that those who are present on Social Media are weak individuals, this clearly makes them particularly manipulable. If then a private company has the opportunity to analyze the lines of thought, the inputs to which it reacts, the reactions to this or that topic, etc… here the data storage company will have a perfect social and psychological profile of the mass and he can manipulate it much, much more easily than the Nazis did during World War II.
The mass shares articles only by title. Only a very small percentage check from multiple sources and read an article well before sharing it. This is another peculiar characteristic of the mass which makes it extremely vulnerable. Today, any Social Media knows (and learns more every day) which articles to propose to trigger your reaction.
Through Filters and Algorithms (Secrets) Social media can choose which news to highlight and which to eliminate … This is the “Social Media Democracy” … They delude you to educate yourself when they actually manipulate you.
Can you be sure that you have voted for the right candidate if Social networks filter only certain news and information? …
You will never know how things really are going … if the sea is really full of plastic or if the plastic is an excuse to distract you from much more serious problems … because all the information is carefully filtered
I have been on Social since 2006. I realize that I have been manipulated. I realize how “Social Dependence” is a very strong drug that feeds my ego. I realize how difficult it is to detoxify but I know perfectly well what implications this “Social World” will bring! To a mass that will move more and more as the leader wants and even those protests that seem genuine and autonomous, will have been organized by the Artificial Intelligence that organizes the Social platform on which most of our life now rests.
Do not underestimate it … Facebook and any Social Application (but not only) have access to your phone, your computer, your contacts …
For this reason, I decided to eliminate the “buttons” share and “likes” in this blog. If I post some article, like this, it will simply be to try to wake up those few who are still recoverable (I think very few by now) and who have enough strength and open-mindedness to be able to start moving away from “Social” Media and try to start living a reality experienced firsthand and not an Induced reality.