I’ve been asked how we can navigate our way through this current “age of outrage”. It’s really important to recognize that in a heightened state of emotions people generally do not think very clearly and certainly do not make the best choices and take the best actions which produce the best possible outcomes.
Social Media (YouTube included) has employed AI-driven algorithms to feed you “outrageous” content, content which elicits an emotional reaction from you. The more emotional, the more “sticky” the post is. The masters of social media are vying for your time. The more time you spend with them the more information you are delivering to them which can in turn be monetized. You are the product! This of course is having a horrible effect on everyone’s psyche and propelling the current “Age of Outrage” we live in.
Becoming aware of these external influences upon us and engaging in positive spiritual cultivation will help blunt and even negate the influence of these forces. But we really need a paradigm shift and to make very healthy choices to be able to remain unscathed by their influences.
In the talk, I reference a well known techno-sociologist Zeynep Tufekci who has been quite outspoken about this influence. She has a number of TED talks that are of interest and feels we should be deeply questioning the ethics of algorithms. This is one of her talks – https://www.ted.com/talks/zeynep_tufekci_we_re_building_a_dystopia_just_to_make_people_click_on_ads#t-1363152
