Social Cooling
November 14, 2020•200 words
544
Something very bad is happening to our society right now: we're cooling down.
"Social cooling" is a new term used to describe the effects mass connectivity, mostly through the Internet, has on people. Not just social media - but even governmental initiatives, like social credit systems.
We're becoming "colder"; less based on our own beliefs, more on external impulses. Because we're watched, we're behaving differently. Maybe more cautiously. Maybe to adhere to certain rules; either to "win" more friends or not get slammed online.
Big data is basically adding another layer to life. But, that layer is artificial. And uncontrollable. Has anyone but a tiny few tech people had a say in what the algorithms judge as "normal"? Normality is subjective. Yet we're trying to make it a universal standard.
Social cooling is like global warming; happening in the background, very slowly destroying our social fabric. It'll take time for us to halt its slow progress, even more to reverse the damage it has done and will do. But we need to raise awareness, speak more about it. Spread mindful privacy and free social existence.
Just like with our planet; once it's taken away, there'll be no going back.