Friends of Dave #40: Firing Up the Outrage Machine
And what does the movie Wall-E have to do with the national anthem?
Whether you are a football fan or not, you no doubt spent the past week hearing about the protests that NFL players and teams (and other professional athletes) displayed during national anthems at games. You literally could not avoid it, as the media (both traditional and social) latched on to it, stirring the pot with reckless abandon to get our attention. All of a sudden, the national anthem became more interesting than the game itself. And, like aftershocks from an earthquake, this was followed by the predictable firing up of the outrage machine on social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter.
You know "The Outrage Machine". It's the phenomenon where people (who, ironically, are labeled "Friends") cast aside all sense of social grace and broadcast their tightly wrapped reactions to events with over the top superlatives, hyperbole, and musings in response. They share pictures whose images, often taken out of context and are overlayed with pithy text that supports their own points of view, are meant to evoke similar reactions from others while increasing "like" counts. The most effective of these memes (which are seldom created by the person sharing them) are mindlessly liked, re-shared and commented upon repeatedly. By the way, you may recall from Issue #13 that memes are just another word for propaganda.
This modern day game of telephone is dangerously combined with a "filter bubble" effect that has formed as the basis for how we consume information on the internet. The result: the equivalent of emotionally charged shouting that quickly devolves into outrage, anger and division. People can fool themselves into thinking it is a "conversation" but there is very little listening actually occurring. And, like in the game of telephone, lost among it all is the real reason for outrage in the first place.
I don't know about you, but I personally am tired of it. I am deeply disturbed by how we are allowing ourselves to be divided as a society -- and the roles Facebook and Twitter are playing in creating discord and outrage that are dividing us. Sure, social media provides us with a convenient platform for both information distribution and a megaphone to express one's opinion. The problem is that neither requires any thought or discovery on our parts. The only requirements are a valid email address and ownership of a smartphone.
Which leads me to the teaser at the top of the intro. Last Sunday morning our 6 year old son happened to be watching the Disney movie "Wall-E" (interestingly, as he was awaiting NFL games to start). While it was marketed as a movie for kids, I had forgotten that the more meaningful message is for the adults -- and it is not pretty when you really pay attention to the dystopian story being told (particularly during the second half of the movie). Remember, this movie was released in 2008, before the ubiquity of smartphones and social media and yet, it paints a believable picture of the path down which we are rapidly headed as a society: physically, emotionally and intellectually complicit and a bigger attachment to the screen in front of us than to one another and reality. I strongly encourage you to watch this film again -- like this weekend if you can.
You will see that the articles I chose this week go along with the spirit of this intro -- some excellent, thought provoking stuff that I sincerely hope you will take some time to check out. In the meantime, here's to everyone rediscovering what social media is really meant for: sharing pictures of kids, pets, food and toes on the beach.
Have a great weekend everyone!
XOXO
Dave
If You Read Nothing Else...
The Dying Art of Disagreement — www.nytimes.com
BEST THING I HAVE READ IN A WHILE.
The crucial prerequisite of intelligent disagreement — namely: shut up; listen up; pause and reconsider; and only then speak — is absent.
Today’s clashes may hoarsen our voices, but they rarely sharpen our thinking, much less change our minds. If we don't relearn how to disagree, we are lost.
Think on This...
The Difference Between Open-Minded and Close-Minded People — www.farnamstreetblog.com Uncover the key differences between people that bring an open and closed mind to the table and learn how those two mindsets affect our success.
How emotion-bait drives virality on social media — www.newswhip.com
Want to avoid getting manipulated by what you see on social media? Learn how expert newsrooms are supercharging their content with emotion to get a reaction from you and click on their stories.
Your Weekly Dose of Randomness...
NFL ratings are down because teams have no incentive to be good — www.sbnation.com
This has nothing to do with Colin Kaepernick or anthem protests.