THE DECADENCE OF INDIVIDUALITY: THE MAN AND HIMSELF 2
This is a sequel to the article, “HUMANITY’S TROJAN HORSE: THE MAN AND HIMSELF”
Individuality’s attachment and proximity to man have made the presence of selfishness inevitable in almost all sectors of life. Humans dangerously manipulate others to their benefit, and this produces a vicious cycle that does not stop. We have learnt and perfected the art of exploitation. Humans manipulate and exploit each other’s selfishness and the prospective ability to be selfish for their selfish reasons. Most of this is done by exploiting the very being. The primal desires and biology are dangerously manipulated even with obvious negative consequences. This is something that I believe affects every living individual. This is the decadence of our individuality.
THE DECADENCE OF INDIVIDUALITY
The human body is a complex system that comprises totally different and simultaneously similar elements that work together. As the science and knowledge of the human body have progressed, the information discovered has been put to both good and bad use. The negative aspect involves using this knowledge to manufacture new and effective ways to exploit and manipulate humans and the different elements that make up the person despite the dangerous consequences. This is how dirty we have become.
THE PRIMAL DESIRE
Sigmund Freud, an enigma in psychology, noted that much of human behaviour is determined by unconscious, biological urges. This is the basis of the tripartite personality, which is the Id, Ego, and Superego. The Id exists in our unconscious mind and represents our instinctive biological desires. The Superego exists in our unconscious mind but influences our conscious thoughts. The superego can include morals which were probably instilled during childhood. The Ego is our consciousness that mediates between the Id and Ego for our decision-making.
I believe the Id can however grow to be more powerful than the Ego and Superego and impose itself on the person. People have noticed the possibility of this happening and have seen it could benefit them, so they find ways to make the Id takeover and control the totality of the personality. The Id includes pleasure-seeking instincts.
People create and market products in such a way that makes the user of such products dependent on them. This is beneficial to the producer because he would be able to make constant sales and profits from the products. The instinct of man is to explore and achieve pleasure in whatsoever circumstance, and this is also a result of our individuality. However, this self-affection can also be exploited by a cunning higher level of individuality.
When humans participate in pleasure-producing acts and receive a pleasurable reward, we are wired to repeat the actions that give such a pleasurable reward. However, such acts can easily become compulsive and continuous because of the pleasure that they give. This causes addiction.
Manufacturers hire psychologists and neurologists to have a good amount of knowledge about humans concerning those fields and make use of such knowledge to make people addicted to their products even though continuous and compulsive consumption of such products might be bad.
Manufacturers research and exploits methods to make their products more rewarding and pleasurable to people without considering the dangers they might pose to the health of individuals. All that is worth is the profit that they receive from sales, and they try as much to maximize profit irrespective of the circumstance and factors involved. This scenario plays out in the food industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and others.
THE BASICS
Many food types are available for consumption, but the most preferred and popularly consumed are salty, sugary, and fatty foods. A continuous and consistent consumption of these edibles is not too good for the body but because of the pleasure that they give, people would rather go with them.
Food and drinks manufacturers are aware of the dangers that these type of edibles poses, such as the risk of obesity and diabetes but they keep pumping them into the market. They keep making these consumables sweeter, saltier, and fatty to keep people coming. Humans are pleasure-seeking and these groups of food give pleasure. Since, the action of eating sugary, salty, and fatty foods gives a pleasurable reward, the human system will crave more of it and those cravings can be so powerful that they become almost impossible, if not impossible to control.
You see bottles of sodas containing about thirty to forty grams of sugar, and some people consume at least a bottle each day. The fact that this form of sugar digested (moves to the bloodstream) faster than those contained in food like carbohydrates makes someone who consumes this form of sugary food almost perpetually hungry, leading to more consumption of this kind of edibles.
The best way to get an individual stuck to something is getting them introduced to it in the formative years before the brain is fully formed. So, whatever is introduced becomes wired in the brain and becomes normal. This makes it strange and uncomfortable if that thing is not present later, which causes a compulsive craving for that thing. This strategy is also employed.
Marketing targets children so they can implant such products in their life and get them stuck on it forever, at least stuck on the same reward. We see products marketed with cartoon characters just to get the attention of children stuck on them.
Another issue involves manufacturers who do not make the public aware of the specific dangers of the products, even though they (the manufacturers) are well aware of it. There are no stamps on products notifying people of the issues that might arise due to the consumption of such substances. However, doing this might reduce sales which would in turn reduce profit. But to them, the circumstances do not matter. What matters is what is to be gained.
The result of this is an unhealthier percentage of individuals, with ailments ranging from obesity to the different types of diabetes.
This transcends to the medical and pharmaceutical lines. Insulin is used for the management of diabetes. Due to the increased consumption of sugary foods, there is an increase in the number of unhealthy people, which includes the number of individuals with diabetes.
This leads to an increase in demand for insulin which is used in the management of diabetes. Due to an increase in demand, and the absolute importance of insulin to the lives of those living with diabetes, the price of insulin shoots up. Those selling insulin can confidently do this because it is a perfect opportunity for maximizing profit due to the absolute importance of insulin to those with diabetes. This is done without the consideration of the lives of people that are at stake. People living with diabetes have no choice but to buy if they want to continue their lives. However, most people cannot comfortably afford the price of insulin but they just have to, compulsively. This is an attitude that has become even more common in the pharmaceutical industry, the guise of capitalism has given the justification and power of unnecessary profit gain over the lives of people.
This pushes individuals to do whatever they also can to get money even though it includes manipulating others for their selfish benefits no matter the circumstance.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE INTERNET
Social media is another manipulating and exploiting point that might be a bit unhealthy for individuals. This is a point most people can relate to. People get stuck on social media for a lengthy period sometimes doing absolutely nothing. Sometimes, it is known that such habit is becoming unhealthy but it seems that it cannot just be stopped. We see how algorithms and or means are used to keep us stuck. They study what we consume, which would include things that we find pleasurable, and feed us more content related to the gathered information. So, we keep getting fed with what we like, which keeps us in a loop. Even with the apparent dangers that social media poses, such as attention deficit issues, the issues of data privacy and what have you, people still get stuck on social media, and seemingly cannot live without social media.
Why these issues are so dangerous is that they are closely intertwined with our primal and basic desires. As food producers manipulate our need to eat and drink, pornography manipulates sex, and so on. This makes liberation from such behaviours difficult.
The world is slowly becoming a world of addicts. People are addicted to dangerous substances, acts, and behaviours without even knowing. This is only pushing the love for the self and will continue to push the depreciation of the world as we know it.
THE LONG TERM
Someone offered me a bottle of soda while writing this, and it got me thinking. I knew the disadvantages that come from it but I felt that I was just unnecessarily denying myself pleasure by not taking it. Even in the face of its disadvantages, I felt that it was okay to have some. This shows how stuck we can be on things like this.
A lot of concern should be put into what we consume as individuals in whatever form they might come. Through consumption, manipulation can easily come through. Due to imminent benefits to the self, people manipulate others to ignore long-term consequences and focus on the short-term burst of pleasure and euphoria. It gets to a point even when the short bursts are not enough. This leads to continuous and compulsive habits, without consideration of the long-term consequences.
There is a neuroscientific explanation of how this can happen. When you consume or perform pleasure-giving substances or acts, the neurotransmitter(neuromodulator) dopamine is released in the brain. Dopamine is the pleasure-giving hormone, that is also related to motivation, drive, and movement. However, due to the reward of pleasure from the act that will cause dopamine release, the act is likely to be performed over and over again until it becomes an addiction.
There are dopamine receptors on the neurons in the brain. When dopamine is released in the synapse (which is the space between two neurons), the post-synaptic neuron (which is the receiving neuron) which has dopamine receptors on it, absorbs the dopamine in the synapse which then goes into the neuron and excites it. However, too much inflow of dopamine in a neuron can damage it.
When the neurons are beginning to get overwhelmed with dopamine, which is due to the constant and compulsive performance of a pleasure-producing act, the levels of dopamine receptors begin to reduce, to reduce the level of dopamine that can get into a neuron. This is to prevent damage to the neuron. As a result of the reduction of the levels of dopamine receptors, compulsive pleasure-giving habits will not give the same high of pleasure as they used to. This propels individuals to indulge in more compulsive behaviour to receive the initial high of pleasure.
However, an imbalance arises when the dopamine level returns to the baseline (which is without the push of the addictive behaviour). Due to the reduced level of dopamine receptors in the brain, the brain is not able to get enough dopamine to be motivated to perform daily activities and live life; this prompts the release of cortisol (the stress hormone). This is also what causes cravings, which will in turn solidify addictive habits and then such individual cannot live life without such addictive behaviours because it seems necessary for survival, and even for motivation to live life. That’s why people going through withdrawal can be in such pain and disarray.
Addictive behaviours, through the release of dopamine, are also linked to the reduction of the gray matter in the prefrontal cortex, which is important for decision-making. Addiction affects the part of the brain responsible for making judgement and forming plans. The size of that part of the brain reduces. That is why most addicts make bad decisions and impaired judgement, and why they cannot make long-term beneficial decisions. All that matters to them is the gratification of the moment. This is why people steal and do illegal things to fund these habits, which leads to the cycle of extortion and manipulation. Addictive behaviours are also very dangerous because they alter genes. The switch on what should be switched off and switch off what should be switched on. If a parent or someone down the line is an addict, there is a high probability that the offspring will also be an addict if it comes in contact with such substance or act in question.
Most people are addicted to something and would do anything to get it even if it includes hurting and exploiting others to keep them addicted to their own products. This leaves them with profit to fund what others have made them addicted to. This is not just limited to substances and market profit; it includes the feeling of superiority and power, and the desire for inequality.
This is why care should be put on what is consumed. Most people do not care about the circumstance or consequence; all that matters is the benefit to the self, and some would stop at nothing to get it.
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