Social Media; Opium of the Masses?

Sociologists, I am sure you have all the heard the phrase ‘Opium of the Masses’ as used by Karl Marx to describe religion. Karl Marx suggests that religion is used as a way of consolation and helping to dull the pain of capitalism. In a postmodern world, I would even go as far as to suggest that social media has taken the place as the ‘opiate’ that helps dull the pain of capitalism.

In a different sense social media and just technology, in general, have become ingrained within our society. We have become chained to our phones. Someone who doesn’t have social media, or does not agree to the norm is seen as being inherently different, or something must be wrong with them. Well, where does the ‘opium’ part come into play? We have become so distracted by the drug that is social media we fail to acknowledge the world around us. The likes, followers, posts we have become absorbed within a fake world. A world of narcissism and self-absorption. We have become so absorbed with the self we forget to see the things around us and things that truly matter.

I guess in a way for many of us, social media is a retreat from the dulls and pains of the mundanity of ordinary life. Social media can help you create a facade of happiness and feeling good. It can make you feel good because you can pretend you're happy and having a good time. So as Karl Marx would say help to dull the pain of capitalism.

Living in a postmodern world maybe we could make the argument that Social Media has helped to ideologically condition us into accepting capitalism and its all pain because we can retreat to a world of fake happiness.

However, we could even go to the polar opposite and argue that social media has helped ‘open our eyes’ and could help spark the overthrow of the bourgeois. Take the recent BLM movement, the riots taking place and the spreading of information through social media. Social media has been one of the key ways knowledge, information and awareness around the issue has been spread. As a result, it has led to widespread riots and ordinary people go against the system and wanting to create and make a change. Maybe social media has sparked the revolution and we can finally eat the rich?

Whatever the implications of social media concerning the state of our society. One thing we can all agree on is that social media is a powerful thing, it has the power to alter our thinking, our behaviour, our attitudes towards each other. The effects of which we shouldn't take lightly.