The Enlightenment was the historical period in Europe and North America that lasted from the late 17th to the late 18th Century. The defining characteristic of the Enlightenment was a transformation in thought that saw the rejection of dogmatic approaches in Religion, Politics, Philosophy, and Science, in favor of a reliance on man’s ability to reason. The era saw the beginning of the scientific revolution and a philosophical questioning of how societies were arranged and managed around a social contract. The difference between the potentialities of individual liberty and the reality of the “Divine Right of Kings” followed a path from criticism to revolution.
The progenitors of our country were well steeped in the philosophy of the Enlightenment. The documentation of our country’s birth, the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights can be viewed as a compendium of all that was best of enlightenment ideals. In particular, the Bill of Rights was felt to be necessary to prevent misconstruction or abuse of constitutionally derived powers. The founding Father’s primary concerns were encapsulated in the First Amendment. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Conspicuously absent from this list is any reference to a “freedom of thought”, and freedom of speech was intrinsically linked to that of the Press. In an age that thrived on intellectual engagement and informed debate, it was taken for granted that an individual would be free to develop their own opinions when given access to the information provided by a free press. Times have changed. Today, we live in an environment where the major political forces are waging a war for control of our minds. It’s not hyperbole to say that your “Freedom of Thought” is under a continuous psyop attack.
The Evolution of Advertising
In the marketing domain of the pre-internet world television reigned supreme, followed by newspapers and radio; that is no longer the case. The favored medium for delivery (as defined by marketing budgets) has shifted to digital media which is now approaching parity with television. Simultaneously the money spent on newspaper and radio advertisements has fallen to 1980 levels. The mechanism driving this change has been the incredible proliferation of the cell phone, particularly the sophisticated technology of smart phones.
Cellphone usage in America is ubiquitous. According to the Pew Research Center, 97% of voting age Americans own some type of cell phone. Ownership of devices classified as smart phones ranges from 99% for the under fifty demographic, to a still impressive 76% for the over 64 crowd. A smaller subset (15%) of the population is without broadband service entirely, and is solely dependent on a cellphone for internet access. Worldwide, cellphone ownership is estimated at 75% of the population, and those phones are the most common gateway to the internet.
The proliferation of smart phones has created an environment where a single device is becoming the preferred mechanism for communication both personally and through social media. This development is slowly changing the fundamentals of marketing techniques. The underlying reason relates to the transformation of advertising from a static to a more fluid environment, along with the ability to interact instantly with the seller. For example, your interest might be perked by a clever TV or Newspaper add concerning a particular product. However, the same add on a phone enables you to search for sources and compare prices almost immediately. In a capitalistic system, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with sellers finding better ways to reach buyers. However, like most everything else that mankind has invented, the smart phone is something of a double edge sword. With the increasing use of smart phones, there has arguably been a parallel structural change in how the younger generations process data. A concept described by Gurwinder Bhogal (gurwinder.blog) as the rise of the Dopamine Culture. It is characterized as a decrease in the time frame between desire and gratification. A few examples illustrate the concept:
Music: listen to an album - listen to a track - tiktoks
Communication: write a letter - send an email - text
News: newspaper - multimedia - clickbait
This compression of time, or shortening of attention span, has forced advertisers to devise better methods for maintaining engagement with their audience. The key technique is to trigger an emotional reaction which amplifies the dopamine response and keeps the receiver engaged. You might be inclined to say so what, but there is a complementary piece of information that most people are only vaguely aware of. Anyone who uses the internet for just about anything is being tracked. Every click you make is a window into your personal life, and the data is kept and analyzed by various tech firms such as Apple, Amazon, or Google. This allows Big Tech to target you in ways you may be unaware of and may not want.
Data Collection
If you have an Android phone or you use Chrome, then Google knows where you live, what you buy, and what you do on the Internet. You can switch search engines, restrict permissions on phone apps, and make a concerted effort to restrict data collection in attempt to “de-Google” your life. There are articles available on the internet that will show you how, but your best efforts will only be partially effective. Google has developed a powerful data collection program called Google Analytics designed to help businesses manage their websites, which Google gives away for free. Almost three-quarters of the top sites on the internet use Google Analytics as their tracking tool for visits, adds, sales, etc. However, if a business uses Google Analytics, it has also given permission for Google to use that tracking data, which is essentially a backdoor conduit to your data. Google is not the only one. Although not quite as invasive as Google, all of Big Tech makes a concerted effort to collect data on you, and probably knows you better than you know yourself. There would be nothing sinister about this data collection provided it stayed in the commercial realm, but it doesn’t.
Data Manipulation and Propaganda
Data collection could be beneficial from a consumer point of view with targeted advertising for objects you already want, or it may prey on a weakness you’re trying to master. It certainly clutters up your screen with unwanted and annoying ads, but that is simply an inconvenience. The real problem is the confluence of the Dopamine Culture, Data Mining, and Political Persuasion. The majority of tech entrepreneurs are liberals who support globalism, wealth redistribution, and increased immigration among other left-leaning policies. They donate to liberal candidates, support liberal organizations, and espouse liberal policies, all of which is a protected right in a free country. However, does Big Tech have the right to collect your data, with the intent to use artificial intelligence programs, and sophisticated tech tools to influence politics? Some would argue that the basic concepts of free speech give them that right, but I would counter that it should ONLY be permissible if done in an open and transparent manner. I would argue that using technology to covertly influence voters without their knowledge is the antithesis of free speech. The technological suppression of information, or the manipulation of free thought through psychological exploitation strikes at the very core of the first amendment because both are necessary prerequisites for exercising free speech. Can elections be fair if Big Tech shares your data with their favored political entities to push false narratives and influence the vote? This type of covert persuasion is not free speech but corrupt political manipulation. Yet it has been an ongoing problem for years and has been accelerating in lockstep with advancing Artificial Intelligence and communication technologies.
A book by Laura Dodworth and Patrick Fagan (2023) Free your Mind: the new world of manipulation and how to resist it (2nd ed. available on Kindle) delves into the complex mechanisms by which you can be manipulated without your knowledge. It’s an enlightening read that will confirm much of what you think you know, and expose areas of which you may have been oblivious. There’s no way I could cover in an essay what the authors needed a book to accomplish, but I can give you a thumbnail sketch of some of the more obscure dangers. With election day approaching, you are the target: “there is an agenda, and you will be cajoled, manipulated and nudged until you agree with it.”
Nudge Theory
It was long thought that rationality was the principle mechanism guiding decision making by most individuals. However, a book published in 2008 by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein argued that if an individual had internal inconsistencies which were context dependent, or processed information in idiosyncratic ways, then rationality collapses. They advocated a new approach to influencing public policy based on the concept of a “Nudge”: a deliberate intervention in the decision-making process of an individual that influences their decisions based on cognitive or emotional biases. They believed it was a mechanism that could change behavior in a predictable way without proscribing options or changing incentives. Brainwashing no longer required brute force. Instead, “it is a slow, repeated, covert process of undue influence”. Governments around the world have seized on this concept and developed internal organizations with the intent to achieve policy goals through Nudging. Think of it as data driven manipulation and covert persuasion. These government entities are often given innocuous sounding names such as “Behavioral Insight Units” but are fundamentally all Nudge Units with you as their target. They operate in every form of media. Their purpose is to evaluate and implement behaviorally informed interventions with the goal of increasing acceptance of the preferred narrative, all without your being acutely aware of it. During the Pandemic, the constantly repeated phrase “safe and effective” was a classic example of Nudge coercion.
(A word of caution, studies have proven conclusively that the more intelligent you are, the easier you are to brainwash. Smart people are really good at rationalizing and convincing themselves that they are immune to manipulation.)
The Mechanisms
Deny, debate, demand – people are more pliable just by being exposed to this concept – incrementalism is the essence of nudging, and the cumulative effect can be significant.
The six basic principles of nudging:
1. Social Proof – Humans are social animals and tend to follow the crowd.
2. Scarcity – If something is perceived as scarce, we assign it a higher value.
3. Liking Principal – we are more easily persuaded if the pitch is made by someone we like or respect.
4. Reciprocity – is the tendency to comply with the requests of someone we feel indebted to.
5. Commitment and Consistency – Reluctance to abandon a commitment even when additional information would argue for a change in behavior.
6. Authority Principal – You don’t have either the time or background to make rational choices on everything, so we surrender that choice to the anointed expert.
During the Pandemic, the British Government sent “Nudge Texts” to citizens which incorporated most of these principals. The Text read “You have reached the top of the Queue and are a priority for getting a free National Health Service Covid-19 vaccine.” The fact that any government uses Nudge techniques speaks volumes about their acceptance of manipulation and deception as key features on how they deal with their citizenry.
Media Pitfalls
Understanding the pitfalls associated with the various forms of media requires an awareness of the processing limitations of our own organic brains. Homo Sapiens evolved in an environment where survival gave primacy to sensory data inputs in visual, olfaction, and vocal forms. Only later did writing develop as a subsidiary of verbal inputs. As a result, our brains are highly biased towards visual data, a cognitive concept called “The Picture Superiority Effect”. Visual images are remembered more often and with better accuracy than words. This gives them a powerful persuasive edge, but which is also a significant shortcoming in a digital age. Visual images trigger a wide array of mental activity which can overwhelm our ability to process data, lessen our ability to think critically and make us highly susceptible to Nudge persuasion. Beware of Media that relies too heavily on visual presentations. Remember that the News Media is controlled by organizations with their own agendas. A significant portion of the Legacy media has become de facto propaganda outlets for the government, and intentional purveyors of disinformation, but that does not mean false information.
“It means misleading information – misplaced information, irrelevant, fragmented or superficial information – information that creates the illusion of knowing something but which in fact leads one away from knowing.” - Free Your Mind
Defense Mechanisms
The first protective method an individual can use to resist Nudge influences is referred to as active resistance. You must conscientiously and deliberately question every proffered piece of information and the source of that information. Unfortunately, our modern environment is one of constant exposure, and while you may recognize the more blatant attempts at Nudging, some of the more subtle efforts can still prey on your subconscious. The sheer volume of exposure to media in our country makes it extremely difficult to constantly be on guard It can be exhaustive and time consuming, but it is still an appropriate defense in some circumstances. Yet, even if you’re a cynical consumer of news and social media, the very act of consumption still has a psychological impact on your thought process. Exposure makes something seem normal and familiar. The “illusory truth effect” makes us more likely to believe that something is true the more often we hear it: “global warming” or “flattening the curve” are just two examples.
The other protective method is referred to as avoidance resistance. You can’t be Nudged or influenced if you’re not engaged. While this is always effective it has its own inherent disadvantages. You can’t just totally disengage from news sources and retain any semblance of awareness of what’s going on in the world.
The only practicable solution is a combination of both methods which is selective avoidance. If you already know that a news source is blatantly biased, then don’t waste your time engaging. Find sources that can be trusted to give both sides of an issue, or if venturing into uncharted waters ratchet up the cynicism quotient. Scan a newspaper with a jaundiced eye to garner a general sense of what’s going on. I would recommend you cultivate a list of writers on the Substack platform for a better in-depth analysis. Some of these journalists in the dissident media have developed a healthy distrust of all government narratives and legacy media propaganda. They write thought-provoking and informative articles and will often recommend other sources worth exploring. Before long, you’ll have your own list of open-minded investigative minds analyzing topics that interest you. Finally, watch Podcast interviews with acknowledged experts conducted by open minded journalists such as Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson, Jan Jekielek. Interviews of this type are the gold standard for achieving any real understanding of a topic.
There are a lot of issues that will be influencing what voters decide in this November’s election. Underlying all of them will be a plebiscite on which of the two differing views of the US Constitution will prevail. One view is that of our founding fathers and is elucidated in the Federalist Papers authored by James Madison. A different interpretation, sometimes referred to as “a living Constitution”, began to evolve during the progressive era of the early 1900’s with new theories of social justice and an ever-expanding list of rights guaranteed by an expanding and entrenched deep state devoted to securing those fabricated rights. The deep state, big tech, and the legacy media are all on board for the latter, and will use their pervasive and honed skills of Nudging to get you to agree as well. Don’t be fooled.
I’ll close this essay with words of wisdom from Lily Tomlin’s Saturday Night Live character, Trudy the Bag Woman. “No matter how much skepticism you have, it’s never enough.” Wise words indeed to contemplate over the next 5 months, as the government, politicians, and Big Tech wage a battle to control your mind.
Addendum: If you’re interested and have time - Inadequacies of Traditional News Media
Television News is a powerful medium, but also an inherently untrustworthy source because they control what you get to know. It is populated by talking heads that regurgitate the same prepared script in a repetitive echo chamber designed to obfuscate or deceive. Even entertainment programs can lower your guard and make you more susceptible to propaganda. Story lines are now politically influenced and Nudging is accomplished by the repetitive insertion of desired social concepts, usually in an emotional manner but devoid of any explanatory context. Television is a permanent fixture in society and Nudging has become a permanent component of Television. Watch less and watch mindfully!
Newspapers are easier to deal with. They may be a print version of the prevailing echo chamber rants or journalists attempting to get to the truth. Caveat Emptor!
Social media may be great for keeping track of family and friends, but is a completely unreliable source for news. Primarily because it is almost impossible to verify the validity of posts and re-tweets. Some experts estimate that as much as 30% of news content on social media is originally AI Bot generated. We also know for a fact that various social media venues cooperated with the Government to suppress free speech by throttling, shadow banning, or de-platforming anyone who dared to question the preferred narrative during the Pandemic. Worthless!
Digital News Media is minefield of clickbait pushing support for the preferred narratives with emotional persuasion in the forms of fear, exaggeration, pending calamity, anger, and hate. Don’t waste your time!
The Internet gives you the potential to find sources espousing alternate viewpoints but accessing them can be difficult. Big Tech uses AI controlled search algorithms designed to manipulate results that push big tech’s preferred narratives, while contrary opinions are buried deep in the results or blocked altogether.
Thank you for outlining clearly the impact of "nudge" influence and its uses. "Healthy skepticism" is indeed healthy. ;-)