Why Are We Okay With Being Manipulated?
And we are every day – just ask Meta, Instagram, Google and all our friends
Pixabay Image - by Yomare
Studies show . . .
I could follow that lead with quotes and citations from informed sources that all point to our society being “pulled” from above by social media, media in general, and the content that flows on it like a river of you know what and ask what do we do about it?
Well, according to those same studies, not a hell of a lot.
In fact, we have grown so accustomed to being led, informed, and influenced by some all-seeing hypnotist at work, that states and governments are now acting on our behalf to do something about it.
And though that action could have been a real fist-pumping moment had they acted years ago when the signs were in full view it is still noteworthy that action is being taken now because apparently, it’s time.
(Excerpt taken from the lawsuit recently filed by 30+ states against Meta Platforms Inc.)
“Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens. Its motive is profit, and in seeking to maximize its financial gains, Meta has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its social media platforms,” the complaint says. “It has concealed the ways in which these platforms exploit and manipulate its most vulnerable consumers: teenagers and children.”
Now if the problem only involved children, teens, and so on, then most of us over the age of 30 or so, with brains fully developed and patterns indelibly imprinted, would have less to worry about.
But au contraire, we are still very much in the sights of the almighty algorithms swimming like predators in a primordial sea, zeroing in on who we are, who we want to be, what we need, what we want, and most importantly what it will take for us to think, act and at times believe whatever they are being programmed to bring about.
At the same time, there’s also a war going on. One without borders or boundaries all happening inside of us. A war to determine who makes the decisions that drive our futures.
And so far, based on world news and events, mass shootings, disgruntled employees, employers, those struggling with inflation, those tired of our government being run like a three-ring circus, those engaged in unprecedented profit-making, over the bodies of consumers, it’s becoming quite clear that something is wrong “out there” and “in here” and if actions are not taken to return things to the way they used to be, without all the accompanying noise and destruction of that era, and whew! maybe we can return to lower blood pressure, longer night sleeps, and more interactive lives with children, friends, neighbors, and the creatures living in that big oak tree we climbed when we were kids.
Manipulation by definition means controlling someone or something to your own advantage, often unfairly or dishonestly.
This further stems from the Latin root manus, meaning – to have your chain yanked at will.
Just kidding.
Manus simply means hand(s) which gives us the gist of what we’re talking about here.
One can manipulate an old carburetor to get it to work and that’s fine. But one shouldn’t manipulate an old friend to get him to drive you 20 miles to your girlfriend’s house because he “owes you.” That would be dishonest.
But we’re not really talking about cars or dates here, are we?
Some of the largest and most profitable companies out there belong under the umbrella of social media and exist primarily to provide a service that we were blissfully happy to live without just a few years ago.
And yet today, they drive a large percentage of our daily decisions regarding traffic, food, dating, where to choose a carpenter or partner for that matter; how to mow a lawn, what signs to look for when our spouse is cheating and a Library of Congress equivalent of everything we really didn’t need or want to know about politics, who governs us, what party is better, taller, richer than the other and who has a direct connection to God, even if technically they’re not suppose to, at least not while serving in the House of Representatives.
These companies, these iconic startups who all began their existence in someone’s garage, dorm room, or gardener shed out back have a certain cachet, entrepreneurial spirit, or an untouchable sense of rightness that we’ve become afraid to doubt their sincerity, and intentions and would rather fall on our own swords then call them on their BS and stop using them.
Twenty years ago, we all knew that an algorithm existed in math classes and laboratories throughout the world but not in the workplace.
Today we quiver just a little when we hear the word and probably don’t really know why we react that way. We know that an algorithm can amplify a good thing online; making people happy, making people money, making people think they are in control of their immediate destinies.
While at the same time manipulating information in ways that would make Machiavelli absolutely giddy with delight, and showing us what we really didn’t ask to see. Telling us what we really didn’t ask to hear and making us believe that we are actually interested in doing something that we when sitting casually in our lounge chair at home, would never think of doing.
And all of this is mapped out, designed, and programmed into existence because the manipulation of people and information is immensely profitable.
That anyone would pay to know what personal hygiene products we use and in what areas was probably not one of those pressing questions we were asking ourselves when graduating high school or college.
And yet today what we eat, wear, brush with, and wipe our posteriors with are all accessible and available online and being purchased by companies who are then raining advertisements on our desktops minutes after searching for “moist chocolate cakes” on Google.
And is this really just good customer service? Like the waiter bringing a steak, medium rare, with baked potato and salad to our table before we’ve even opened the menu.
Or is it just creepy?
Knowing who your customers are in good business. Addressing someone by their name when they enter your restaurant shows that you care and are paying attention.
But selling every single detail about the last three years of visits, what they ate, how it was prepared, the desserts they chose, the people who came with them, whether were they close, did they kiss, how they paid the check, would take things to the extreme and all being done without your permission.
Yes, you may have given away that permission in some situations because you didn’t fully read page 14 of their terms and conditions before signing it, but they knew you wouldn’t. They wrote it so you couldn’t.
But at the same time, by way of comparison, would you just shrug and say, ah what the hell, if a burglar gets away with stealing your jewelry because he left a message earlier on your home phone, that you took for a prank call?
The thing about manipulation is the same inherent thing behind just about everything that we get used to.
Do you read all the line items on your phone bills, the 15 separate fees, taxes, and surcharges ranging from state to city to what the hell is that?
Probably not. What about the cable bill that is tantamount to a living organism in that it constantly morphs into something new each month? Remove a channel in March and it’s back again in August as a free three-month special and then charged for later at three times the previous rate.
We’re manipulated at the grocery store – hot trendy items upfront; the drug store – half of what you need at “50% off,” the rest full price, and just about everywhere else.
Most of these acts started as just good business sense – give the customer what they want at a good price.
Which over time transitioned into, giving the customer what we need to sell, and making her think it was her decision by showing her all the money saved in the last month on items she wasn’t even looking for.
And the other thing is, that anyone who is asked upfront, are you being manipulated in life would probably be offended by the question and would unequivocally say no way. And yet they are – all the time.
Manipulation didn’t start with the Internet. Most of those iconic companies started off with good intentions and ideas that had a potentially positive effect on society. But it seems that after the IPO and the first few billion entered someone’s resume, things went a little south. Not for all companies, just too many of them.
As a society, we tend to not make waves about things (services, products, activities) that have been with us for generations. We treat them like family.
We don’t second guess the motives of any Dept of Water and Power or Gas Utility until and unless some watchdog committee points out that we’ve just paid $10 million for the renovation of the company’s new beach house.
But as in all families, some individuals take advantage of others. Lean into their goodness and make a profit off of it.
We know this about family members and so are wary of them from time to time.
The same wariness is needed with those companies that provide us with services that are not really essential. Not like water, electricity, and waste management, but more like pizza, streaming services, fast food delivered to the door, and so on.
We don’t typically object to being manipulated because most manipulation is not painful. We are not manipulated into breaking fingers entering revolving doors or given scalding coffee at drive-throughs so we’ll head straight to the ER.
We are provided wanted services. Offered bundles of TV shows, unique movies, highly rated sports programming, and the like, and are pleased that they’re thinking of us.
And that we’ll gladly pay the $8.99 a month startup fee, which increases to $12.99 after the new year and $16.99 by year’s end, while some of the more favored shows slide painlessly into the more expensive tier which we end up getting charged for without noticing too much.
Is the old adage of the frog and the boiling pot of water coming into play here? God forbid.
Well, actually now that you mention it, that sums it up nicely, but then even if it does, civilization comes at a price doesn’t it, as does comfort and convenience.
But while some forms of manipulation are rather pleasant and relieve stress some other forms are seedy, deceptive, unfair, and leave a bitter taste when looked upon in later years.
Best to forego the regrets and recriminations and simply pay more attention now and check the monopolies . . . sorry those social media companies and corporations that use algorithms like some fishing vessels use miles of large-mesh driftnets.
Only in this example, it’s not sharks, dolphins, and sea turtles getting caught, it’s our children.
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