The Bandwagon Effect

The speaker discusses the negative impact of social media and the bandwagon effect on individuals' mental health. They explain how the narrative surrounding the pandemic has affected people's thinking patterns and cognitive distortions. The speaker emphasizes the need for self-awareness and critical thinking to challenge these distortions. They also address the rise of keyboard warriors on social media and the underlying anger and frustration in society. The lack of mental health support and the overall negative state of society are highlighted. The speaker encourages individuals to take a pause and reflect on their actions and thoughts to promote positive change. Hey friends, it's Deanna with Pivot to Passion. Today I want to talk a little bit about a horrible trend that we are seeing all over social media. We've all heard the term keyboard warriors and that's been pretty predominant since social media really hit the world. The last three years though it has gotten to be very very brutal and evil where people simply can't take it anymore and choose to end their own lives. This trend is becoming alarmingly negative, vicious and dark. And I want to take a minute to talk a little bit about what has happened to the human brain over the last three years. So we were living in of course unprecedented times and we all know that. We're all very aware that that is where the world was. That is the unfortunate reality of the situation that every single human being was in. The issue though was the narrative, was the division, was the two separate bandwagons. And I'm going to talk a little bit about what bandwagon, what the term bandwagon, the bandwagon effect means. It's basically also known as what's called herd mentality or herd behavior. And it refers to the tendency of individuals to adopt or conform to a particular belief trend or behavior simply because others are doing so. In other words it's the phenomenon where people tend to go along with popular opinions or follow the actions of the majority regardless of their own personal beliefs or judgments. The bandwagon effect is driven by the innate human desire for social acceptance, a belonging, a fear of being left out or ostracized. And it often occurs in situations where individuals feel uncertain or lack sufficient information to form their own independent judgments. When faced with such uncertainty people may simply rely on the actions or opinions of others as a shortcut to their own decision making. This effect can be observed in various aspects of life including fashion trends, consumer behavior, political movements, social media influence and public opinion. And most recently a worldwide pandemic. People may join a cause, support a candidate or adopt a certain product or behavior simply because they perceive it to be popular or widely accepted. The bandwagon effect can have both positive and negative consequences. On the positive side it can help create a sense of unity, a collective action encouraging social change or the adoption of beneficial behaviors. However, it can also lead to conformity and the suppression of critical thinking. And as individuals may suppress their own opinions or fail to consider alternative viewpoints. And understanding the bandwagon effect is important for each and every individual because it highlights the influence of social dynamics on individual decision making. It reminds us to critically evaluate our own choices and beliefs, independent social pressures in order to maintain authenticity and make informed decisions based on our own values and judgment. Now, let's take a look at how that was all stripped away the last three years. The news of the pandemic hit the airwaves, the panic set in, the fear began. Then our government bodies, our health bodies, all of those huge organizations adapted the narrative. And the narrative, and I'm not here to argue the narrative, let's just put that on the table. I'm here to talk about the long-term effects of those types of events on the human brain, on the programming, on the implementation of belief systems, on the way we choose to react to situations moving forward. And what happens to us as a human being when we lose our ability to stand in our own true, authentic energy. And that is exactly what happened to a lot of people. A lot of people had a feeling something wasn't quite right, and they weren't comfortable with the way the restrictions were being implemented, bandwagon number one. Then there's the majority of the population who were very much herded into a specific action belief in subsequent positioning, bandwagon two. Then what happened is these organizations then began changing the narrative. Changing the narrative to actually resonate with the population. The reality is every single human being has what are called cognitive distortions. These come into play because of societal programming, educational programming, religious programming. We at a young age are exposed to certain situations and belief patterns, therefore develop our own belief patterns based on the information fed to us as we are growing up. Sometimes what tends to happen is those situations create what is called cognitive distortions. These are patterns of biased or irrational thinking that can lead to distorted perceptions of reality and negative emotional states. And they are commonly associated with cognitive behavioral therapy, otherwise known as CBT, and are believed to contribute to various mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. I'm going to talk about some of the more common cognitive distortions. What I want you to do is I want you to step back for a moment as you're listening to each one and try to specifically connect it to a situation throughout the pandemic. How that narrative affected you, how it affected your community, how it affected your family, your social circle, your work platform, all of those things, how things changed. And then what I want you to do is try to connect the narrative to these specific distortions. Because you're going to realize very quickly that the narrative was very much based on cognitive distortions to be able to resonate with a larger population of people. Again, I'm not having the argument on right or wrong. I'm talking about the way the human brain simply absorbs processes and maintains data. That's it. Number one, all or one thinking. Viewing situations in extreme black and white terms without considering the shades of gray or even acknowledging the middle ground. This really happened with the whole you will die if you don't mentality. You will kill your neighbor if you don't mentality. You are evil if you don't mentality. All of those sorts of things. Going to the other bandwagon, you're just a sheep mentality. I can't believe you're being bulldozed like this mentality. All of those sorts of things. Both bandwagons, equally as guilty throughout this whole process. Number two, overgeneralization. Drawing broad conclusions based on limited evidence or single negative experience, assuming that it applies to all similar situations. This happened right out of the gate. There was an assumption, worst case catastrophe assumption, right from the beginning. And I understand that that had to happen that way. Absolutely. However, as the data came in, as the research started to unfold, that narrative never changed. Even though they were seeing that what was happening wasn't as catastrophic as it had been initially assumed. Number three, mental filter. Focusing excessively on negative details or aspects of the situation while ignoring the positive elements. That was so predominant, therefore changing the mindset within the human beings. Rather than saying, in my province alone where we have a population of just under a million people, rather than saying 975,000 people do not have COVID, they were focused on the numbers that did have COVID. That became so predominant. So the fear factor was set in based on filtering, based on allowing you to only see a consistent message, creating fear and creating the inability to filter the data to look at the positive. The negative was so predominantly pushed in everyone's face. Number four, jumping to conclusions. Making assumptions or forming judgments without sufficient evidence. And this can manifest as mind reading, assuming what others are thinking, or fortune telling, predicting negative outcomes without any justification. Wow, that was massive. Absolutely massive. Jumping to conclusions, if somebody had chosen to not do something, they were ostracized based on the conclusion of the person assuming the reasoning why. That was so predominant. We even had a toll free number here where we could report neighbors because we thought or assumed or jumped to a conclusion that they were doing something wrong. That's where we were. Number five, catastrophizing. Magnifying or exaggerating the significance or potential consequences of an event, assuming the worst case scenario. That really goes back to number two as well, the overgeneralization, because everybody had a doomsday end of world mentality throughout this. Number six, personalization. Taking things personally and interpreting external events or actions to oneself, even though they have little or nothing to do with personal characteristics or actions. Our own premier attacked people, even though they were doing what they were supposed to do. He was actually putting everybody in the same basket and creating such a frustration and fear amongst the population that they started to take things personally and questioned what they could continue to do differently, even though they were doing everything they were told to do. Number seven, emotional reasoning. Believing that one's emotions reflect objective reality, assuming that if one feels a certain way, well, it must be true. Well, I don't even need to really talk about that one. We all know how that went. Eight, should-must statements. Imposing rigid and unrealistic expectations on oneself or others, leading to feelings of guilt, frustration, and disappointment. Now, what happens is the narrative was predominantly so pushed forward with a very clear message, and then when people started seeing that what was happening wasn't changing things as they had hoped or anticipated, then what happens is that added immense anger and frustration. Not to mention the fear factor allowing people to, forcing people to live in fight-or-flight state for three years, which has unbelievable long-term effects on the body. Number nine, labeling. Wow, we all know, I shouldn't even have to explain this one. Applying negative labels or self-critical language to oneself or others based on specific actions or characteristics, leading to a limited and distorted view. The Truckers' Rally is a prime example of that. Everybody was painted with one brush. Number 10, discounting the positive. Minimizing, dismissing, or discounting positive experiences, qualities, or achievements, resulting in a skewed perception of oneself or the world. Even though the majority of the population was doing as they were asked by public health officials. Even though they were moving in the right direction. Even though they were doing this, they were being dismissed because whenever the numbers weren't in queue with how the elected officials wanted things to go, everybody became attacked. There was a negative flow against every single decision that was made. So, therefore, what tends to happen is people become very angry. That anger manifests within the body. And they feel because so many people were ostracized during this, that they cannot speak their own truth. They simply cannot have an opinion. So, it's important to note that cognitive distortions can be challenged and addressed through your own self-awareness. Cognitive restructuring and reframing techniques. By recognizing these distortions, anyone can work towards developing a more balanced and accurate thinking pattern. Which will lead to more improved emotional well-being and more constructive behaviors. Let's loop back to the blatant keyboard warrior attacks on social media. Many of these people that are doing this to other people, their thought patterns have been completely reframed. Their belief patterns have been completely reframed. They have literally been mapped, for sake of a better term. Every single thing that has happened over the course of the last three years, if they had any underlying cognitive distortions, those were absolutely magnified. It is almost like the pieces and parts of the human psyche were injected with steroids and it pushed all of those heavier negative attributes to the surface. And nobody knew how to deal with that. And now we have post-pandemic, no services, no support, inflation through the roof, people can't buy groceries. It increases the fear factor. Government officials aren't doing anything to help people, very little. And people are feeling angry, agitated, left out, frustrated, and downright ragey. And where do they take out the rage? A lot of human beings. Because you know what? It's easier to slap your fingers on a keyboard than it is to go out in public and harm someone physically. Even though the reality is words are harmful, whether they are in person or whether they are not. And they affect people at core, deep levels. But that doesn't matter. So, as a society, this is where we are. We have become a group of individuals who are angry, who are frustrated, who are scared, who are lacking hope, who are feeling that there is no support for them. There is nobody listening to them. So, here we are. So, as I'm seeing people commenting out of fear, frustration, emotion, I'm seeing people commenting out of fear, frustration, emotion, I'm seeing people commenting out of fear, frustration, emotion, I'm seeing people commenting out of fear, frustration, emotion, with out of fear, frustration, emotion. The deep sadness within so many people is real and it is raw. The lack of mental health support is very real. In Canada, we now are offering assisted suicide to people who are not able to cope. Sweet mother of God. Rather than give you support, we'll let you end your life. I struggle with all of this myself because there are moments where I don't know whatever happened to my world. The world that I loved and adored. The world that held each other up. The world that stroked each other with love and kindness and compassion. The mentality that it takes a village. The bandwagon effect is still in full gear. And we still have two very, very full bandwagons. But the problem is now, is that people have gotten tired. And they are literally walking in a robotic state. They are trying to rebalance their bodies after massive doses of adrenaline being pumped over and over and over again based in fight or flight mode. Based in fear. Based in all of those things. PTSD is through the roof. Because people were so terrified to leave their homes. All of these things, the reprogramming and reframing of people's minds in such a short period of time is astounding. But it can be expected when people understand how the human brain actually works and functions. So the rage that we are seeing can actually be directly linked to what people have experienced in the last three years. They have no outlets. No tools to understand how to reframe their thinking. No support to nurture, heal and allow them to work through the mental crisis they are in. We have severe inflation. So there is a fear factor of deep core survival mode adding to that as well. And it all stems from a narrative that was determined to pit human beings against each other by the exact same people we elect to protect us. So of course it is easy to have keyboard rage because it has truly been planted, fostered and grown at such a subliminal level with such a huge population that it is going to take years to correct it on a global scale. So I am not saying being a keyboard warrior and attacking another person is okay. What I am saying is we all need to check ourselves, right? We all need to step back and really sit within ourselves and ask ourselves, is that necessary? Is that kind? Is that needed? Is that helpful? When we do those sorts of things and we maybe take a five-second pause, we can reshift the way things exit our brain. And whether that exit through our fingers on a keyboard or our mouth, however it exits, take a five-second pause. We all have the ability, if we truly and genuinely want to, to fix ourselves. We all have the ability to reframe our thinking. We all have the ability to become genuinely positive and authentic human beings. We all do have that ability. Too many people stand within the seat of ego and allow ego to feed them. That is truly where we are today. Thank you so much for joining me today. I absolutely appreciate and value your time. Have a great day.