How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds

Re:How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds by djsumdog on Friday May 20, 2016 @06:20PM (#11741979)

I'm so glad you mentioned Edward Bernays. It's interesting how he was very helpful in promoting his uncle's book in the US, bringing Freud some much needed cash. At the same time, Sigmund hated Bernays, and Anna, for using a lot of his psychological work to change the face of advertising into what it is today.

Bernays created the very first _Public Relations_ office (he made up the term because "Propaganda" was a bad word). He helped get more women smoking (torches for freedom!). I'm sure if it wasn't him and Anna, someone else would have come along and made these discoveries anyway.

Capitalism, Consumerism and Planed Obsolescence will be what brings down the current world.

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Re:How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds by rm_-rf_slash on Friday May 20, 2016 @06:24PM (#11742001)

Well yeah, that was basically his argument: propaganda is too effective to be left in the "wrong" hands, so the "right" people better get on it, and quick.

I'm sure it dawned on him that it wouldn't take long until everyone was using it and there would be no discernible difference between the good or bad.

"Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely."

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Re:How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds by jamesblonde on Sunday May 22, 2016 @05:16AM (#11747905)

And the usual reference to Adam Curtis' history of consumerism, based around Edward Bernays: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ3RzGoQC4s

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