Our present opportunity for self-indoctination

Posted 4 years, 7 months ago | Originally written on 31 Oct 2011

We are experiencing something new in the history of Mankind.

At no other time has knowledge been available for the asking as it is today. Just twenty years ago the Internet did not exist, mobile phones were in their early forms and the only access to a self-prepared curriculum was the local library. Right now we are 'always connected' with all manner of devices. The Internet is producing amateur professionals on a daily basis and the balance of power is shifting from multinational media corporations to the self.

This would probably explain why advertising is such a menace as it is. If you thought that it is the result of increased access then you are wrong. While increased access has definitely aided the growth of the advertising industry this does not account for the fact that much of the advertising does not rely on electronic media (think of billboards, free newspapers etc.). It would we reasonable to infer that the growing aggressive marketing campaigns are largely designed to deprive the individual of the vantage point offered by the greater access to self-selected doctrine.

In the past, newspapers, television and radio held sway. It was through them that minds could be safely or perilously harnessed for the community's ends. They were called broadcast media since there was only one source that all destinations had to be tuned in to. There is actually no word (to the best of my knowledge) for the Internet. I would call it me-cast and it explains the need for more and more bandwidth since everyone wants the right to receive what they choose, which is a tall order.

Much as greater access has meant a greater impinge of advertising dross (now you know), there is a silver lining built in. We would say that broadcast has strong indoctrination potential because someone in a position of control could determine what you should, would and could know. Me-cast, on other hand, offers the potential for self-indoctrination. In other words, you can determine what you want to know and flood your mind excessively with it. Of course, this could be to one's peril but done right can strengthen one's resolve against the pressure to buy.

Simply put, indoctrinate yourself.