Digital moralism

Every time i open a link for a news page, i am bombarded with news about the world that is either negative in its nature or is something deeply saddening. Before i know it, the animalistic guilt in me wants to click on it and read it otherwise in my own eyes i will be certified cold hearted, uncaring human with no respect or emotions for humanity and what is upon them. Therefore, my mind implores me to open the link not just to read it but to tell me to be sad over it (Even if my rational mind wants to be a little skeptical about the authenticity of the news), to forcefully react to it in my head and deem it as unacceptable and something that is deeply wrong. It’s as if a big eye is watching over me in my own head judging me for every reaction i make and how i behave. But we forget that eye is nothing but a reflection of our moral mind created by us and extremely influenced by the society around. We all are walking around with that eye above our shoulders. The one who is constantly watching us and through a feedback loop getting stronger, weaker depending on our reactions. Let me give you an example: you are scrolling through your news feed and you see picture of a puppy lying on the road after being hit by a car. Our natural reaction (or the moral reaction) SHOULD be to be sad over it! The image should elicit a feeling of disgust, along with empathy and a desire to help. However, all you can do is to look at the image and share it, get likes on it (or sad emoticons; the new invention by Facebook). But the reality might be that the page that showed it was probably getting paid by the advertising vultures which are praying on emotions of the so called traffic (groups of humans) on its page and using it to stockpile profits. Now if someone asks you who is worse: The person monetizing the picture or the person who just scrolls through without giving an emoticon to it? Who would you judge more? Of course the person who would scroll without giving an emoticon. Because that’s how our mind works, the fast system (irrational one) makes an instant judgement and marks that person as immoral. And the eye sitting on our own shoulders gives a pat on the back and says: see, he is immoral but you are not. So keep going nice human and react to the next image, post, story, etc (like a master training/petting the pet). You will get more morality points from me and you can keep increasing your chest by few cm each time you’re given a pat on the back by THE EYE. 

The truth is that people who really care about these issues are not sitting on their laptops scrolling through the daily binge news and reacting like a monkey on everything they see. Those people are out there and getting their hands dirty fighting for the causes on the ground level. Because that’s where the change happens! Sure you could tell yourself that by sharing a post you are making people more aware of it, but the reality it just like you are sitting behind a screen and sharing it and hoping that someone somewhere will take the responsibility of actually doing something about it, the people who see your post are imagining in the same. Hence welcome to the collective delusion!

So then why do we think that just by reacting it and satisfying our morality egos we will be okay to go on in our lives and every time we look in the mirror we will see an angel with wings helping the world (albeit by sharing posts). Have we become so shallow? That we ourselves decide if we are moral or not and gloat over it? 

If someone really wants to make a difference they will do it without having Facebook remind them of the causes that they SHOULD care about! Facebook cannot decide if you should care about a cause of not. Nor can anyone else. We all are born in different circumstances and depending on your environments, upbringing and other unknown factors, we care about different things.

I am not aware of any cause that was helped be solved by Facebook posts (except ministers saving stranded countrymen in a foreign land for their personal political glory, or the self-mutilating public showering challenges (for ALS). Where also we self-glorified ourselves by Proving to THE EYE and EYES of our ‘friends’ that we care!)

Some people are calling Facebook or virtual reality the new empathy machines. I would call it the virtual empathy machine. It’s just entertainment (even if it entertainment for our negative emotions). Just like the mice in cages which will die of giving themselves shocks rather than sit alone doing nothing, we all are machines programmed to avoid boredom. THIS ladies and gentlemen of the jury is the whole foundation principle of the entertainment industry. So as far as it stays entertainment it’s okay! The moment it tries to leap over and tries to be a digital messiah, it’s a problem. Because it’s trying to do what it was not supposed to, with keeping a curtain on the eyes of the people. Or by attracting their attention on something that THEY want you to see rather than what might be of more importance but something they cannot benefit from (just like in a magic show the magician uses a Beautiful distraction, who is a key part of the delusion). For this one reason, the digital world deeply vexes me, but then again until I am actively releasing rats in the server rooms of the digital shark conglomerates, I am not actually doing anything. But who knows, maybe one day....

Why so serious Jack? This post is supposed to be taken in humor and nothing else.