Acceptance: the dilemma
Have you watched the netflix docudrama “the social dilemma”?
If not then I would suggest you do ASAP. It’s a docudrama (a new genre for me) where the Tech experts sound the alarm on the dangerous human impact of social networking.
I know- I am writing this and sharing it through social media platforms. All day long are glued to screen. FOMO has gripped us strongly- fashion, attire, makeup, lifestyle, food and now in fact very important topic like work, networking, alumni circle, job circulars all are related to this. We are not confined to few major job sites anymore let alone looking at the newspapers.
Networking is Everything is now based on who knows who, how much are they known, what are the level of connection, which list do you belong to, how much “help and support” can be received from these connection points.
Are you at the top of the pyramid who takes up all the random challenges? #blackandwhitechallenge, #first_impression_challenge, #patpresentchallen, #couplechallenge, the New Avatars, The 10 year challenge blah blah.
Are you member of the groups which are deemed as very IN considering you socio economic class, you career or you gender (girls group/ boys group), to buy stuff you like (makeup, gadgets, pet, gaming or things to get from aborad) your hobbies (travel, attire, makeup, gardening, cooking, baking etc) or your passion for various stuff.
Earlier I got to learn about Brand Archetypes. Since working with consumer insights I have come across the term but I never got to work on such a topic (it is something not very common study focuses on) and moreover it is largely covered by qualitative research.
So basically if you search about who invented this and what this is you would get the following: Archetypes are based on Swiss psychologist Carl Jung’s theory that humans have a basic tendency to use symbolism to understand concepts. Jung identified 12 archetypes. Each of these has a powerful identity. Each archetype has its own set of characteristics, values, attitudes and behaviors. The advertising and marketing industry has applied that concept to create brand archetypes.
This is a very interesting concept indeed. This got to made me think few steps backwards. Jung used human’s basic tendency to grab the persona of brands. But the very origin of it- people, can we really define them and categorize them? Isn’t it applicable only for “a point of time” rather than “infinite time”? Can you be certain about the person you were 5 years back? Are your characteristics, values, attitudes and behaviors the same? Some might make fun and ask the married people to inquire it from their “spouses/ special ones” as they are the ones to notice the changes faster than others.
বাংলাদেশী শিক্ষাবিদ, নাট্যকার, সাহিত্য সমালোচক, ভাষাবিজ্ঞানী এবং শহীদ বুদ্ধিজীবী মুনীর চৌধুরী বলেছেন “ মানুষ মরে গেলে পচে যায়, বেঁচে থাকলে বদলায়, কারণে-অকারণে বদলায় ”
Bangladeshi Academician, literary critic, linguist and martyred intellectual Munir Chowdhury said, “People rot when they die, change when they live, they change for a reason or for no reason at all.”
Truth is we will keep on changing, our lives 10 years back was different. But the methods and ways of life will keep on changing just like technology and climate (which is happening for the worse)
Social dilemma showed us how you are being controlled while thinking you are in control and without any idea of how the world of social media is actually shaping your life without you noticing it. That day I had a discussion with someone who asked me the reason of people taking selfies- to be very honest I had no clue! Could it be to check the makeup/ getup/ face? To keep e memory (of visiting a nice washroom and snapping 50 selfies within 1 minute?) The person claimed that it is about acceptance from others/ gaining confidence which is measured through likes and views on social media. But me being someone who isn't a big fan of selfies (other than group ones purely for commemorating n event)- I find this to be disturbing and honestly pretty annoying. The most annoying thing to me is a selfie with a quote which has nothing to do with the context of your picture or situation. I just don’t get this!!!! Now the thing is- AM I THE ONLY ONE FEELING LIKE THIS? Am I overreacting by thinking this all seems pretty useless to me?
People who say “Only god can judge me” end up posting thousands of selfies- I just don't understand how this works. If you aren’t posting it for other people than whom is it for?
I share articles, posts but I have seen people do not like to go through it. They like memes, pictures- let it be people or food. We have way too many information but we have no clue how genuine those are or how effectively we can use it. You can have the world or you can be lost in translation like me for most of the cases. I do most of the shopping from online. I get most of the things which are not needed in many cases along with some essentials.
Quantity can never beat quality. Just like that your pseudo life and interests on social media might give you some sort of acceptance to your virtual world but believe me- it is seriously the time to reconsider and grab the leash. Either you are being loved, envied, hated or talked about. The screen and the world of social media is a dilemma.
Move away and try clicking not a picture of every single sunset or sunrise or whatever mazing thing you encounter. You don’t need to capture all the beauties on lenses. Maybe it’s time to enjoy life fully and accept that your own acceptance is the biggest and most important thing in this world for you. Love yourself enough so that you are truly in control and be less shallow.
