Social media is like a hawker’s market. Some people are there to sell their wares while most are looking for something to consume. There are two types of sellers. Those who sell their merchandise quietly like a Muhindi shop. Then there are the ubiquitous hawkers. Like the male hawker wearing a bra and a skirt while shouting at the top of his lungs, they are hard to ignore. They are called social media influencers and gurus. They run the asylum. Consumers on the other hand, are mostly voyeurs, trying to satisfy their baser instincts by indulging in the exhibitionism of the hawkers.
Social media gives people the opportunity to present themselves to the world as they would like to be perceived. Some want to appear intelligent, others rich, others kind, others funny. Everyone is trying to copy what everyone else is doing. So inauthentic like “yours sincerely” in a letter. Like Muthurwa market, social media is brutal, noisy and messy. And like divorce, it always has casualties. If you stay out of social media for some time and then get back. You will feel like you entered a different world, an asylum. Something feels off. People are always shouting, fighting or laughing out loud. It is chaos. However if you spend a little more time in the asylum, you get accustomed to it. The madness becomes normal. I digress.
The people who have mastered social media, the obnoxious hawkers, the influencers and gurus, seem to have a particular personality trait. They are psychopaths. These guys are super confident like the AIM Global multilevel marketers. They are unflinching and can lie through their teeth like a fake pastor selling anointing oil. One of the key traits of psychopaths is lack of empathy. They have no have no chills, no guilt, no conscience. They can also be very vindictive and are really good at trolling. They can run you out of town. More often than not, psychopaths are also charming and charismatic in their own right. That’s why they have many followers who are mostly echo chambers. Some are entertainers, some activists; some entrepreneurs while others are ‘public intellectuals’. The entertainer may produce a beautiful piece of art. The activist may fight for a just cause. The public intellectual may educate the public on valid social issues. They can be angels.
Psychopaths are really good actors. However, when their inflated ego is injured, they may let down their guard and reveal their true character. These are the moments you realize that your favorite politician is a murderer, your favorite public intellectual is a tribal bigot, your favorite entertainer stole someone’s art and your favorite activist knows which side of his bread is buttered. After all, social media is a platform which amplifies our character. It enables psychopaths to make their killing. Pun intended.
In his book The Wisdom of Psychopaths, Kevin Dutton makes the case that successful entrepreneurs, con artists, surgeons, martyrs, spies and serial killers all have psychopathic tendencies. I think charismatic preachers and politicians are cut from the same cloth. Research shows that 25% of offenders in prison are psychopaths. I think the other 75% are on the social media prison and they are the wardens!
Fabio
PS.
Want to know if you are a psychopath? Answer this trivia
A lady met a nice charming guy on the funeral of her mother. She really liked the guy and longed to meet him again but they never exchanged contacts. One day she came home and found her sister in her bedroom and killed her. Why did she kill her?