People are Getting Even

They have been treated badly (by other people, especially their parents) and now they are treating them badly - just to get even. But they are not aware of all this at all - and don't want to be aware of it.

This last part - they don't want to be aware of it - is very important. And is due to the way humans prioritize their experiences. Their emotions are more important to them, than their thinking (the way they think about their world). Thinking (or reasoning) is a recent addition to their mental capabilities, and it has less influence over them.

Thinking about what is going on, makes them feel bad - and they want to feel good. They may know this is faulty reasoning - but they can easily ignore that.

I'm sure this has been going on for a long time. But recently, with the arrival of networked devices (such as TV and the Computer) this has been getting worse. These allow people to be manipulated by their emotions (their feelings) more than before.

Clever (but unscrupulous) people make it their business to understand people better than they understand themselves. And appeal to their herd instincts.

Recently, as is often the case, Your Data is Being Manipulated plopped into my inbox, right on time. The writer, Dana Boyd, is associated with Microsoft's Data and Society people. These people know what is going on - and they want other people to know also.

But only a few people are listening to them - the vast majority (probably 99 percent) are not listening. They are busy getting even, and don't want to be distracted, by someone else's ideas.