The Great Hack, my reflections

Netflix released this documentary selling the drama of how multiple companies use big-data to manipulate public opinion, change the outcome of democratic elections, and how it might affect you. To me, the reason why this documentary is a must-watch is that it reveals a pattern of behavior deeply embedded in our culture, what I call fear tactics.

It is indeed dramatic to see how massive has become the extent of this kind of manipulation, all as a result of the widespread use of technological platforms and social networks. Can we say that social media platforms are solely responsible for these abusive practices?

• How is the TV advertising industry using data to adjust their campaigns?
• How is the retail industry using data to sell more of what they want to?
• Why most industrialized nations consume so much?

The premise of our culture of fear is a simple condition: if you aren’t better than the rest, you’ll have fewer chances to succeed.

When we connect success with money and power, we get into a vicious cycle of competition, arrogance, and discrimination (we against them). Our source of success becomes part of our personality, and we defend it as if losing it would mean losing our own identity. I am talking about a modern version of the Survival of the fittest, the Social recognition of the successful.

I challenge you to watch the documentary and to identify how the powerful among us use fear tactics to manipulate others. Try to think about how that pattern of behavior works in you, as part of your business culture, as part of your local politics and any other field of social activities relevant to you.

After watching it, don’t forget something, each one of us is entitled to change our culture of fear to a culture of freedom, tolerance, inclusion, and respect to our individual qualities. Of course, you can also opt for keeping the status quo as it is.