Ignorance

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“We get the leaders we deserve.”

Ohhh, I don’t know about that. I know I don’t deserve Boris Johnson, I know you don’t. Irrespective of the ever more binary political standpoints that seem to pass for debate today, I don’t think anyone really does.

But, in what seemed to me at best a knowing ignorance of any ‘rules’ that were in place at the time he (and his staff) were acting within the boundaries of behaviour and wider mutual (lack of) respect that seem to be ever more prevalent.

Euro 2020 final - July 2020 - Deccan Herald

As a balance, at the Euro’s 2020 final (and at a very high number of other sporting events), putting the violence to one side - the number of men - because it pretty much always is - (of all ages) snorting cocaine off any flat surface - was (and is) pretty mindboggling.

Using the appalling word ‘class’ is not something I enjoy, but in this context its relevant. Neither Boris drinking wine or ‘Tom/Dick/Harry’ taking coke care about how they are seen, by whom and have no fear or compunction in terms of any consequence. Class, income, social ‘status’ has nothing to do with it - ignorance is becoming more and more embedded within our society.

We are all starting to become startingly ignorant to the direct impact of our collective (in) actions, and somehow tell ourselves that ignorance equals innocence;

Those working three jobs having to use food banks.
Sending asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Pensioners having to choose between having a meal and washing their clothes.
Ukrainians fleeing a hugely avoidable war, being exploited here in the UK.

Did you ever seriously think you would live in a society that accepted these norms? And again, this has nothing to do with politics - its what we’ve all settled for.

But our own ignorance is undermining aspects of our lives (professional and personal) in almost invisible ways. You’re going to have to stick with me a little here….

Ignorance has sat at the core of digital product design. Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Google et.al have knowingly ignored the potential consequences of their products (there is no thing in product design as an ‘unintended consequence’) throughout their lifetimes.

They have been designed to tap into our vulnerabilities - whether its the desire for social proof, self-esteem issues, etc. They have also been designed to exploit these vulnerabilities in such as way so as we don’t feel we have the time to understand what those vulnerabilities mean to us as individuals.

“You have low self esteem. Here - this tool can help you fix that. And if you keep using it you won’t have to worry about your self esteem”

“You feel as though nobody listens to you. Well, we do, and we’ll help you say what you want to anyone you want - we know you’ll feel better then - and then you’ll want to say something else”

And if we don’t understand ourselves - and indeed are encouraged not to - how on earth are we meant to understand others, never mind care about them or concern ourselves with how our actions affect them?

Now, I’m far from saying that the design of Facebook made Boris Johnson who he is, or indeed makes people take cocaine in front of ten year olds at Wembley Stadium, but I’m becoming more comfortable in my thoughts around that it - and other tech products that we use - have an almost anaesthetic impact on numbing our human responses.

So, I wonder, that if such behaviour is seen to be ‘accepted’, the boundaries of normality must get wider, with the result that society is moves further apart and becomes ever more strained - until maybe it breaks.

Dave McRobbieJune 9, 2022Comment