It has long been the case that any common-goal movement comprising humans will fractionate over time. In the olden days this would happen after the common goal had been achieved, when petty squabbles took the place of the new-found boredom. The principal effect of social media in particular is to accelerate the process such that the fractionation happens way before anything useful gets done.
Some of the problem arises from the plethora of available movements to digitally support. In the olden days you had to get off your arse and write letters, attend meetings, rallies and events to be part of something. Now people seem to think clicking "Like" on a Facebook page adds weight to anything. It plainly doesn't.
Imagine you are despot who feels the need for a Personal Guard of hand-picked and handsomely paid elite soldiers at your side to make you look 'ard. Imagine you oppress a million people and they start getting umpty. If every single one of them slagged you off on Facebook and Twitter you wouldn't be upset. But if just one in a hundred of them got off their arses, got together and turned up on your doorstep looking for you you would brick yourself.
So the digital despot simply diverts a few currency units from the Personal Guard budget across to the Social Network Unit. It is much more efficient and a lot safer to disrupt or distract discussions online than it is to stand up in an assembly hall full of militants waving a cat picture or suggesting that another cause is of greater worth than the one everyone just gave up their evening to support.
The few who can remain focussed on the big picture and who see but are not distracted by its intricate detail will still achieve change.
[2nd June 2014]
No comments:
Post a Comment