A modern principle: avoid manipulation
Author: Alec Kornblum 2024-07-20 Sat 15:47
A modern principle ought to be to avoid manipulation. There are highly advanced manipulators in the world. There are advances in psychology, marketing, and technology that have combined to teach those who wish to enslave you by legal means an effective measure: addiction and persuasion.
In the most moral and prosperous societies of antiquity, those of good will would encourage their loved ones to live a life of freedom and independence; to think freely and act forthrightly on one's interests in the world; and to observe one's life and make contributions to society.
The ancients in search of living an observed, good life would have advised to think independently and avoid manipulation. They might have called it autonomy, rule of the self. This is avoiding heteronomy, rule from another. It is not always possible to avoid such manipulations. One can find tricksters and manipulators in history. Humans have spread propaganda, have fomented revolution, and have stolen from their brethren. However, the modern world's manipulation is far more pernicious and must be avoided with redoubled fervor.
In our modern times, avoiding manipulation has become very difficult due to overstimulation and over-manipulation. Free thought is hindered by the constant stimulation from technology. One must make an effort to stay unencumbered by the machinations of others, to avoid heteronomy.
Overstimulation from the smartphone
Modern communication technology in particular has changed. It is cheap and easy to communicate en masse.
The most pernicious aspect of heteronomy from overstimulation is that the means of influence for others is in your pocket – the so-called smartphone. If not that, then it's television, which is pervasive in public and private (cf. 94% households own TV, airport TV, gas pump TVs, doctor's office TVs). Many people believe these devices bring them joy and utility, but their usage can be highly skewed toward heteronomy rather than utiliy. The drivers of this are online and in-app advertising, plus push notifications. These notifications interrupt your being to assert their will on you.
This level of stimulation makes repetition trivial for advertisers. Those who want your money need only purchase some time on one of the numerous broadcasts, and they are nearly guaranteed to reach a high percentage of the population.
Technological manipulation by repetition
One must understand that modern technology enables manipulation by persuasion from overstimulation. Allowing messages to enter your consciousness repeatedly will convince you they are true, even if they are not. The pervasive nature of messaging from technology is difficult to realize, considering its novelty in our societies. In this way, overstimulation can convince you to act on someone else's interests without your knowing.
Technological manipulation aided by addiction
With technological propaganda in place, one wishing to enslave their targets must ensure the technology is not rejected. To do so, addiction has been employed by many technology companies, especially social media companies.
Clickbait, hyperstimulation, and psychologically rewarding application design are three tools used to keep users addicted to their phones. The clickbait is properly named: it's bait out there to keep you hooked on what you're looking at, as Jocko would say. Often these are outrageous titles and thumbnails.
Hyperstimulation is a principle taken from pornography. Embellish the correct parts of a video, title, or article and the brain reacts with a proportionately large interest, to the point of addiction.
Design of applications has shifted from utility to psychological reward. Websites want you to continue scrolling through their archives, and so they make the clickbait and hyperstimulation front and center. They are nominally websites that could contain useful information, but end up centering propaganda and "the message".
How to avoid modern technological manipulation
The way to avoid modern manipulation from technology is to use it only in your best interests. This requires an understanding of signal versus noise: what is something useful rather than something interested in affecting your thoughts by capturing your attention.
Some signs an app or website are bad follow. The first is that it has an ad-based profit model. Unethical ads inherently require your attention and attempt to convince you the product is worthwhile. These ads, in modern times, are never based on the benefits of the product. You can know you are being manipulated if there are ads.
Another sign is an augmented reality. These hyperstimulative messages take over your brain and have an outsized influence on your behavior because they cannot occur in nature. If they could, your response would be beneficial to your life or reproduction. Because they cannot, you know to avoid it.
Another thing to consider is the frequency of any stimulation or messaging you are consuming. When you find yourself surrounded by any message more than would be possible without a technological revolution, you know you're being manipulated.