The logic of social networks, without proper analysis, can lead to tremendous misunderstandings. Political action is not a gossip magazine section, it is serious and systematic study. It means having coldness in the blood and humbleness in the heart before our own ignorance, because we are all ignorant in one aspect or another. Human knowledge is, by definition, limited.
Treating what you see on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube as “real” without a critical eye ignores that what you see on these networks is ranked by algorithms that are not in our control, and in fact, are in the control of the imperialist bourgeoisie. In 2014, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) demonstrated that it is possible to cause significant changes in users’ moods by altering the content that appears on their timeline on Facebook. For those interested, the study is called “Experimental evidence of massivescale emotional contagion through social networks” under DOI code “doi:10.1073/pnas.1412469111”.
However, no algorithm is all-powerful. Criticism tears it all down, leaving no stone unturned. Critical sense and awareness of these mechanisms of manipulation help to ameliorate the effects of bourgeois social media on an individual’s psychological health, but one other thing I would suggest, which some might even find unusual, is meditation, awareness of one’s own breathing and thought patterns.
Buddhism, in my experience, was a line path straight to Marxism, which fills in the gaps that Buddhism left in its millennial path. Patience, cool-bloodedness, and mental serenity are qualities that meditation helps develop a lot, but unfortunately there is no easy path to anything, because meditation should not be done just any random way if the goal is to achieve gains in your psychological development.
I am hardly going to write about Buddhism, which I understand as a science that seeks to understand thought and mind, and this post is an exception, but it fits perfectly in the context of bourgeois social media, where learning to open your mind, and shielding it when necessary is essential. But if comrades are interested in the subject, we can have a discussion about it in the comments as well
Frankly, I don’t want more social media “Internet activism”; we need more on-the-ground organizing. That’s changing in the USA with more organizers, but the USA has too many influencers/Internet activists as well.
I know this has nothing to do with what you’re saying, but people in Marxist-Leninst Internet circles treat everything they read as, well, “real” as well… and with good reason, but they also miss the point or go into an ultra-left direction.
Excellent post.
I know you said you see Buddhism as a science, but in relation to spirituality I think that spirituality can be a useful tool against such mechanisms. It’s heavily co-opted by neoliberal “just keep your head down” McMindfullness, but its potential is vast.
