The Age Of Psychopathy: Why Society Is Increasingly Relying On Manipulation
A few years ago, sociologist Zygmunt Bauman defined the concept of “liquid modernity,” a society that has achieved enough technological development that all conveniences are just a button away.
We are saturated with stimuli, information, leisure offers, we live connected to work and everything is so simple with technology that depth or reflection is no longer required, but simply speed: the need to adapt quickly, learn quickly, be capable to perform many tasks in a short time… Individualism and the manipulation of the behavior of others prevail through all the means that the technological environment puts at our disposal. The era of psychopathy has appeared
We live in a society that covers a lot and presses little. We have social networks that allow us to contact hundreds of people daily, but due to this interface, such exchanges are shallow or inconsequential In fact, today, depth is not a value. The value of successful people is in many cases in the millions they move, the beauty, the material objects they display or the empty moments they boast about on Instagram.
If our ancestors needed intelligence to survive their world, today the need for social intelligence prevails While language, logic, strategy, calculation… have been successfully reproduced in computers and new technologies, it has not been the same for other specifically human skills, such as facial recognition, humor, and ultimately, those skills that require interpersonal exchanges. However, these qualities can also be affected by the dehumanization of jobs and relationships.
In the field of robotics and artificial intelligence, a concept called “uncanny valley”; This suggests that when a humanoid looks a lot like a human being but not enough (it has subtle differences), it creates a feeling of discomfort and restlessness in people. Therefore, it is not surprising that those individuals who today present a higher social intelligence, better social mimicry and adaptation, and why not say it, a greater capacity for manipulation, go further in life, given that their communication skills seduction can disguise the fact that they move through logic more typical of a robot.
Characteristics such as pragmatism and utilitarianism, superficial charm (see Instagram), individualism and manipulation They are reflected in our society every day in the same way that they define the psychopathic personality.
The new dynamics of violence: the era of psychopathy
Although violence has decreased from century to century, crime is a rising value. And it is worth emphasizing violence: while a few centuries ago armies killed each other with a clean sword to conquer or usurp other kingdoms, today the limits of neighboring countries are almost completely respected and there is even a certain alliance between them. . However, every country has an army up its sleeve and increasingly sophisticated weapons “just in case.” The agreements between our rulers are as superficial as their handshakes and fake smiles. And the power that some exercise over others is based on economic power.
Crimes change and so we go from armed robberies to scams in large companies, exploitation, political corruption and the creation of laws that can sweep the whole shebang under the rug or scandals that distract the public from more important social issues… Psychopathic ways of obtaining benefits and power by using others which are becoming more and more common to the point of legalizing the fact that they trade with each other’s private information and data.
Society is evolving in a psychopathic way, and the best adapted individual will be the one who develops the traits that are socially valued today: the one who shows you his best side while not giving a damn about everything, and in particular you. To understand this superficial charm, this search for power being used and using others disguised as kindness that is dominating the world, this social face of hypocrisy, just watch the first episode of the third season of Black Mirror, Nosedive.
