The New Religion
Every now and then, we see major players in the social media embracing different occasions with quite a punch. From women's day to animal rights, earth day or the resurrection of a political or scientific figure. In fact over the past few years, we see this trend appearing trending like no other. It has become more or less like the religious calendar where every day there is an occasion or a name to celebrate.
Corporations, whether they focus on religion, technology, games or news, make their revenue by hooking up the masses to their product. No, they don't give a fuck about Madam Curie, Saint Ballsack or a hideous species going extinct.
What they do care, is their sheeples' self-absorption to an imaginary cause. We are constantly flooded with petty issues and problems we could have ever imaged. Not because we as a species care about them but because we care about the fuss and attention whoring those issues bring to our profile or community. They are as easy baits for attention and social kudos as it is to flash one's tits in the middle of the street.
It's easy to support "women's rights" or " Chewbacca's beard day" because a share, a picture, or a social event with 99.9999℅ casual talk, doesn't take an effort but it does have a massive social impact (at least for those who use the sheep to cash in). After all, everybody is watching. All the time. Never our heads have been so far up our asses.
Sure, It is hard to escape our nature since the world around us is build along the same religious and political concepts. We might be thinking that atheism or apolitical stances guard our individuality but on a daily basis we are bombarded and succumb to trends and practises without even realizing it.
Being a freethinker is an extremely tedious and tiring task. It requires constant evaluation of every thought, whether that involves a movie or a casual conversation. It doesn't end when you stop believing in God or a certain political system.
Modern religion is the news sites we follow, the tv shows, the movies, songs, gadgets, and games. Our saints and Gods are the protagonists, the ideal images, the artificial realities, the "it" we aspire to one day be and probably will never be. Indeed, a hope of grandeur no different than paradise or the afterlife. We fail to grasp the statistical gravity of the situation because psychologically we can't afford anything less.
We are born to believe because our very life depends on it. Even if we choose to keep a distance with what the world has bestowed upon us, we will perish. We will never escape this religious mode as long as we are biologically based beings, predetermined from our physiology. Those who do choose the lonely road, wither away, making the remaining majority even stronger. We don't believe less than our ancestors. On the contrary, we are more religious than ever.
And political parties, economic theories, political correctness, The Path to the Only Truthtm, positive thinking, white supremacy, feminism, conspiracies, Apple; apparently people need something to be religious about, as long as it doesn't take too much thinking or other effort. Some are even religious about atheism. It's tragic, but interesting to observe.
I round those under the spectrum of the news sites and social media since more or less they used to exist before hand. Today we gave the power to a few sources to dictate what we learn, what we think and what we believe. The belief system of them media has fractured into many "heresies" but still it holds the same structure as any other religion.
It is quite interesting to observe indeed. Afterall we are humans. Nothing really changes dramatically
Good piece of thinking. "Never our heads have been so far up our asses" I like that one. Back to the roots, too hands and feet again. Less hours in the virtual world maybe is the beginning. On the other hand social media gives us a graet tool to communicate, express our thoughts and get inspired. It is all about the right balance. Steem on and afterwards we meet in the garden and care for the soil.
LOL - I like that one too! 😉
It's not so much the technology but the way we have become reliant on the information. Much like in the middle ages few knew how to read and write and thus those in power, like religions manipulated the masses with their own version of "fake news" and propaganda. Today we don't do it because of knowledge but because of laziness.
Gold. 'I got all my thoughts sorted out now, no need to question them'
Very good post! - I truly enjoyed reading it!
Nothing more to say, but - feel the same! 👍