15 Feb Social media minority Influence and majority conformity
Why are social media companies interested if Mrs Jones living at Number 32, buys cat food every Friday? Because knowing what brand Mrs Jones uses and when the right time is to tempt her into buying more or persuading her to purchase from a different company has value. With the help of algorithms, those who desire control and influence can now predict our behaviours, anticipating and influencing our opinions and purchases; they can modify our choices for power and profit. Therefore, data collection in the 21st century has become a significant commodity.
Tuesday, 7/2/2023, was Safer Internet Day (SID). At the same time, those fighting against social media harm highlighted the dangers of online challenges and cyberbullying the mainstream media reported on, the threat imposed by China, TikTok and data control. According to American officials and government representatives, their concerns included the potential dangers of the Chinese Government and state-sponsored corporations controlling the data of millions of users, algorithmic recommendations that could potentially influence operations, and software control over millions of devices. As a result, China, with the assistance of TikTok, could be affecting what we see, think and buy. Social media and internet platforms are enabling governments, or those who wish to control us, the power to manipulate our behaviours and construct our beliefs, voluntarily or naively, we are now trading our privacy for convenience,
Social media has become the perfect vehicle for influential individuals to exploit the masses. According to Moscovici (1968), minority group influence persuading the majority happens slowly and is most effective if consistent. Assisted by Hashtags, emojis, buzz words, and short hyperbolic discourse, the acceleration of powerful persuasive messaging can all be transformative online. In the extreme, we are now experiencing behavioural modifications at an alarming rate on a worrisome scale, including a move from the influence of social habits to the corruption of political persuasion. From elections to social grooming, governments can use their minority influence to gain majority support.
Most of us are not ready to disconnect from social media; governments are surging forward, making it increasingly impossible to function in all aspects of society without the internet and a smartphone. Therefore, how do we protect ourselves and our children from the negative influences quietly waiting in pockets and bedrooms? The majority response from governments has been to legislate; however, tech giants and those who wish to do harm, influence or assert control have understood that in the core values of the West sits a powerful loophole, the freedom of speech. Coupled with the motivation for the big bucks generated by social media, people and power have become secondary to profit. In the internet age, is it time to restrict certain freedoms to protect the freedom of speech?
Through the vehicle of social media, despotic governments and extremists now have the perfect tool to groom and gaslight us on an unimaginable scale, the minority influencing the majority to frightening conformity. Therefore, teaching critical thinking is now more vital than ever before, exposing not just the disinformation but the way industry, governments, journalists, and influential individuals manipulate our behaviours.
Professor Shoshana Zuboff: The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
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