Power Games & Facebook Likes in the Virtual World.
Facebook has infiltrated our lives to such an extent that we feel a compulsive need to check Facebook for "Status Updates " and the count of Likes that we have collected, on a daily,and even hourly basis. We need to have an urgent reality check, otherwise we will be trapped in a virtual world where the illusion of interaction with other human beings, takes over the actual "give-and--take" of real life.
Why are we so much addicted to these digital " Likes" on Facebook ? Cosmopolitan magazine in an article titled "The Psychology of a Like,How Social Media is Really Affecting your Brain.",at https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a9931660/psychology-social-media-likes-mental-health-issues/ , postulated that just like chocolate and sugar addiction,the human brain also gets addicted to the temporary euphoria created by these virtual Likes,to the extent that prolonged exposure leads to a psychological craving for these Likes.
The problem with such a digital addiction is that the real world and the virtual world, start to overlap their boundaries. We lose the ability to distinguish one from the other,by being constantly living in the digital virtual world.Since virtual Likes are easy to get in the virtual world, compared to the human interactions in the real world,which involves multi-tasking on many parameters, reading nuances in speech, decoding body language,hence the human brain starts to take shelter in the virtual,easier world of digital Likes.
And where there is a powerful social media involved like Facebook & WhatsApp, power games will be lurking around. Because anyone having a large number of Likes, not only feels powerful,but is also recognised as an Influencer,worth following and courting. Enter manipulation of Likes for material gain. And for ego strokes,the more Likes the merrier. Enter I have more Likes than You. Enter cyber bullying. And ganging up for egoistical flattery,in which genuine content has no value,only content which panders to baser instincts,enabling the Likes Leader to bully the poorer in Likes.So the power games go on, you Like my matter,I like your Likes & meaning is irrelevant.
That is not to say that social media should be shunned,only that limits need to be set,to avoid being lulled into digital addiction,cyber manipulation. Balance is Everything .
MPSingh
Facebook has infiltrated our lives to such an extent that we feel a compulsive need to check Facebook for "Status Updates " and the count of Likes that we have collected, on a daily,and even hourly basis. We need to have an urgent reality check, otherwise we will be trapped in a virtual world where the illusion of interaction with other human beings, takes over the actual "give-and--take" of real life.
Why are we so much addicted to these digital " Likes" on Facebook ? Cosmopolitan magazine in an article titled "The Psychology of a Like,How Social Media is Really Affecting your Brain.",at https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a9931660/psychology-social-media-likes-mental-health-issues/ , postulated that just like chocolate and sugar addiction,the human brain also gets addicted to the temporary euphoria created by these virtual Likes,to the extent that prolonged exposure leads to a psychological craving for these Likes.
The problem with such a digital addiction is that the real world and the virtual world, start to overlap their boundaries. We lose the ability to distinguish one from the other,by being constantly living in the digital virtual world.Since virtual Likes are easy to get in the virtual world, compared to the human interactions in the real world,which involves multi-tasking on many parameters, reading nuances in speech, decoding body language,hence the human brain starts to take shelter in the virtual,easier world of digital Likes.
And where there is a powerful social media involved like Facebook & WhatsApp, power games will be lurking around. Because anyone having a large number of Likes, not only feels powerful,but is also recognised as an Influencer,worth following and courting. Enter manipulation of Likes for material gain. And for ego strokes,the more Likes the merrier. Enter I have more Likes than You. Enter cyber bullying. And ganging up for egoistical flattery,in which genuine content has no value,only content which panders to baser instincts,enabling the Likes Leader to bully the poorer in Likes.So the power games go on, you Like my matter,I like your Likes & meaning is irrelevant.
That is not to say that social media should be shunned,only that limits need to be set,to avoid being lulled into digital addiction,cyber manipulation. Balance is Everything .
MPSingh
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