The following was originally part of the Gen-X Superpower article but went off too far on its own path. Consider this article a sequel to it.
Social Control
In The Gen-X Superpower I noted that "Gen X is difficult to push or pull because they don't react, they aren't rigid. They just kind of flop and then go back to doing their own thing. Today's social power paradigm generally relies on the co-opted self-organization of its target groups in response to stimuli ... As a result Generation X is rarely mentioned in official society. The power structure doesn't want to legitimize any consciousness that doesn't serve their purposes."
Note that they don't actually erase Gen X, they only refrain from including it in the social narrative. They don't have much actual control over people themselves.
Several lessons can be discerned from all this:
- Things that are given attention are probably part of the control mechanism; things that are not given attention are probably not
- They don't care which of the official options you choose, only that you choose one
- Because they use your individual emotions to direct group behavior they will tend to use hooks that are mass-produced for the group so that the entire group moves in the same way at the same time
- As a complement to the above, power structures have historically benefited from innovations that enable drilling down to smaller groups because they can have more personalized & thus intense hooks; as long as the control mechanism can maintain coherence they will do this
- Beware of social mechanisms that standardize attachments, emotions, and behavioral patterns; they will tend to be co-opted or manufactured
- Beware of "onramps" that direct behavior into mass flow, especially if there are no easy offramps
- Beware of conflicts that feed you a steady drip of pleasure via official channels, either through affirmation or anti-affirmation -- they use both
Social Media
Social media is a fascinating vector for manipulating groups of people. Before social media power entities usually had to inject desirable ideas into public discourse via friendly media personnel, deniable assets, or overt publication. Outsiders whos actions or opinions were desirable had to be identified and groomed. Social media funnels the communications of the masses through a handful of clearinghouses that permit real-time monitoring and curation, making it much cheaper to utilize the average man.
Several lessons can be discerned from this:
- Social media gives the impression of free communication because the content is largely organic in origin; it is the exposure that is contrived
- Whoever controls social media can dynamically adjust hooks, conflicts, and social signals in an attempt to direct mass behavior
- As a corollary to the above the actual events used to manage people can be entirely natural even while producing contrived results; a sophisticated control mechanism with enough control over the communication of diverse stimuli can curate exposure to encourage desired connections
- Most of the social control mechanism isn't artificial, it is natural but co-opted by bad actors; it will always be around because that is what humans are like
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