02 // The Binary-Ostracised & The Normalisation of the Absurd
Is the old, beautiful WWW becoming fascist?
Fascism is a political movement and ideology driven by an authoritarian world view. Its etymology is rooted in Latin, meaning 'fasces'—a bundle of sticks. In modern times, the term designates a political movement aimed at mobilising the masses, advocating for violence and domination by subjugating opposing groups and political ideologies.
Taking this into consideration, a clear parallel could be drawn with how corporate giants operate in the digital world. They do not act publicly or directly through physical violence, but through more surreptitious methods of dominance. Platforms achieve this via data extraction, algorithmic governance, metrics, surveillance of user behaviour, and playing monopoly games.
The goal is to dictate user preferences, likes, shares, and needs—manufacturing desires for things people do not actually require—simply by monitoring what makes them click.
Could this be considered authorised surveillance, or a mischievous pattern of corporate abuse masquerading behind accepted 'terms of use'?
Does the user automatically become the ab-used simply by agreeing to be a user?
😂 – Just food for thought.
Avanti, avanti...
The global standardisation of cultural aspects—offering identical habits, products, and desires all over the globe—systematically injects new trends into human brains. It transforms non-followers into the digital black sheep: the outsider, the binary-ostracised. These are the ones who refuse to be reduced and morphed into mass trends, rejecting the lifestyle of a ready-to-use 'human' perfectly manufactured on a digital assembly line.
Social media platforms, operating on the flawed assumption that everyone requires a massive following, are fertile ground for this deeply entrenched normalisation of the absurd. Unified by algorithms, groups blindly chase ridiculous fashions—frequently to the detriment of their own physical safety—just to become a viral product of digital fascism.
Oof.
Am I being too 'insurgent'?
A rebel🤘—yahoo**hoo...