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| Late 1800's Ad from the County Capital |
In doing research for my manuscript about Isaac Werner and the Populist Movement, I read both the Populist newspaper to which Isaac subscribed, The County Capital, and the Republican newspaper to which my paternal great grandfather subscribed, The St. John News. There were certainly significant differences in the way news was reported by those two St. John newspapers. I suspect, however, that the advertisements I am including in this blog from The County Capital were much the same.
Then and now, we are all influenced by where and how we obtain our information. Of course, that definitely applies to politics, but this blog is not about politics. Then and now we are promised cures and beauty products that we want to believe but deep down know better. We are lured to buy things that are exciting but unnecessary, updates when our old things are still serviceable, beautiful when what we have is just a little faded. I am sharing ads from the County Capital of Isaac's era, but there is no need for me to share modern ads, since you are bombarded with them on television and teased by them in magazines. The art of propaganda to influence our decisions is nothing new; however, the ability to influence our decisions is encountering new territory.
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| Late 1800's Ad from the County Capital |
Recently I read an article by Justin Brown concerning remarks made by a former Facebook executive, warning the Stanford University students to whom he was speaking that they must decide how much of their intellectual independence they are willing to give up. Chamath Palihapitiya is a former Facebook vice-president who left in 2011, so he should know about that which he speaks when he says, "you don't realize it, but you are being programmed."
I previously blogged about algorithms (Adapting to Changing Technologies, 3-30-2017) and about what we visit and how we purchase online are being used to track our activities, interests, and tastes, as well as how much we are willing to pay for things we want. Palihapitiya revealed another sophisticated method being used to influence us. "The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created are destroying how society works. No civil discourse, no cooperation, misinformation, mistruth. ...This is a global problem ... It is eroding the core foundations of how people behave by and between each other."
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| 1800s Ad, County Capital |
He explained how what he called 'bad actors' can manipulate large populations, "...because we get rewarded in these short-term signals (hearts, likes, thumbs ups) and we conflate that with value and we conflate that with truth."
When asked for a solution to the damage this is causing, Palihapitiya admitted that he had no broad remedy. "My solution is, I don't use these tools anymore. I haven't for years."
Reflecting on his warning, I thought about whether he was being too alarmist. Perhaps as you read this, you are doing the same thing. I have blogged about the disappearing significance of letters between friends. (Isaac's Penmanship, 5-2-2012) I have noticed how young people no longer join community groups as their parents once did. The St. John Victorian Teas I blogged about (11-8-2011) have been discontinued because the women who planned and hosted the teas have grown older and were unable to recruit younger women to take their places. Of course, part of that is the result of more women in the workplace, too busy to assume more responsibilities. But even lodges and clubs that are merely gathering places are failing to attract younger members. Movie theaters are closing because people prefer to watch movies at home on their own televisions with Netflix or cable. Friends have admitted that they often text because they don't want to get involved in a long phone conversation, and I have watched two people in the same room communicate by text rather than conversationally, excluding others in the room from their comments. Social courtesies and common interactions are definitely changing.
Brown's article also cites Facebook's founding president, Sean Parker, who acknowledges their purpose was to "consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible." Parker also admitted the intentional effects of "giv[ing] you a little dopamine hit every once in a while, because someone liked or commented on a photo or a post or whatever. And that's going to get you to contribute more content." ..."It's a social-validation feedback loop...exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology." http://www.ideapod.com/social/user/Justin
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| Late 1800s Ad from County Capital |
Did the County Capital shape Isaac Werner's ideas about populism and community issues? Of course. Did The St. John News shape my great grandfather's ideas, and the ideas of his son and grandson who continued to be subscribers for their entire lives? Certainly. However, Isaac and my great grandfather knew one another and shared conversations. Their interactions were not restricted to like-minded people. The St. John News editor once joked that some of his subscribers stopped taking the paper in order to subscribe to the County Capital. "Now they have to borrow someone else's paper to read The News," he teased. But as the way we communicate changes, those interactions change too.
Solo local newspapers generally tried to minimize their bias, not only from professional ethics but also because they needed as many subscribers as possible to stay in business. Where are those newspapers today? Small towns that once supported 2 or 3 newspapers now have none. Small cities shrink their size and publish only once or twice a week to survive. Even bigger cities' newspapers are slim editions. Many families no longer subscribe to any newspaper.
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| Late 1800s Ad from County Capital |
Our opinions are shaped by national news on television, which doesn't always accurately reflect regional news, reducing their reporting about a state or region to a single point of view.
When was the last time you received a letter from a friend? Do your friends correspond regularly by e-mail as they did before facebook or other social media. Are we often too busy to pause for conversations with friends at the post office and the grocery store? As past means of communication decline, and social organizations lose membership, where do we get our news about friends' new babies and high school sports victories if not on social media.
And by the way, could you take a moment to ❤❤❤❤me? We all do it. And we are pleased when we receive hearts and likes and thumbs up, but hearts are not conversations. Hearts are not the exchange of ideas and opinions. Isaac liked it when he received compliments for his ideas, newspaper articles, and speeches at community meetings, but he was also aware of opposing views in his community, expressed during informal conversations and public meetings. Is what is happening now through social media really that different? I just thought you might enjoy reading what people with expertise in social media think. If they are alarmed, should we be??
Remember, you can click on these antique ad to enlarge them.
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