The power of choice.

[Swoop 2,278]

Hey everypony, just wanted to share something that I found to be quite an interesting watch.

 

Iv'e always enjoyed listening to sociologist Professor Renata Salecl's theories on social behaviour. Recently, an organisation known as the Royal Society of Arts created an animation to complement one of her speeches, where she explores the paralysing anxiety and dissatisfaction surrounding limitless choice.

 

Even if you don't particularly enjoy sociology, I'd still recommend you give it a watch, since the visual media is still pretty entertaining.

 

 

Being a minimalist, I can't say I've ever encountered many of the issues highlighted in the video. Can anybody else relate to such problems? Do you believe that capitalism is partly to blame? Is self criticism and anxiety simply a component of human nature that can't be diminished nor amplified by anything but ourselves? Does the freedom to be the architects of our own lives actually hinder rather than help us?

 

I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter.

[Ezynell 2,037]

I found this video very interesting. Although I didn't understand some parts, I got the gist of the theme of self criticism and the relation of the problem to marxism and freudian psychology and understood the psychological reference to the book 1984. Personally I have not faced the problems and anxiety mentioned (on a large scale at least), but keep in mind the bias I have as a 15 year old, high-school attending teenager.

[Colon Leftbracket 971]

Aha! A discussion for the smarter ponies here!

Like Ice up there ^ I got most of the references! Like Ice I'm also a high schooler (17 year old Junoir) and I'm only getting my first job here soon. I really haven't got much to go by, but I get what she's saying.

 

I don't really find much anxiety in TOO many choices. I find anxiety in the fact that there are a lot of choices, but I don't seem to enjoy ANY of them! Perhaps I'm much too critical, but when it comes to selecting a game to play or movie to watch I see a vast library of trash that everyone else likes and a small section of quality that I enjoy.

 

The self criticism I understand completely. I feel anxiety everyday when people tell me I have to go make something of myself. "Go to college!" "Join the Navy!" I hear a lot. I'm not cut out for the military since I cannot become faceless soldier #367. I know I cannot afford College and I'm not smart enough​ not a good enough student to get any kind of scholarship. These thoughts cause me to criticize myself which in turn causes anxiety.

 

In a capitalistic society I feel that it's not everyone's supposed to make it. I feel its more like everyone (friends/family) expects you to make it, or rather they demand you make it! If I were to not go and get an education and just worked small jobs I will feel like I failed everyone's expectations. More ANXIETY! Guess if I win the gamble at being a successful published author (writing seems to be my only skill I seem to have that's worth something in this society) then I'll prove them wrong and hey, no pesky student loans!

[DubWolf 17,263]

Mmm yes.

With a few good choices, you are able to easily choose the best choice through "rote thinking", and you enjoy it on the surface. The more choices you have, the more it forces you to think critically to the point that you're not really sure what you want and never really feel satisfied if you aren't THAT satisfied with your choice .

Like thinking there was a better choice you never really were able to evaluate fully...

This is now relatable

[Splashee 28,564]

@Swoop Your signature is a full length movie of Twilight. I got caught in it. Such a 2011 thing

[Pentium100 2,123]

I prefer there to be choice compared to the alternative. I quite frequently find that there is not enough choice or that what I specifically want is not available. If I don't care about something I can just choose the cheapest one or whatever, but if I do care, then it's usually not enough choice for me and if there were fewer options than that, it would be worse for me. 

For example - I go to a restaurant and if it has a big menu then I'll most likely be able to find something good to eat there. If I am with a group of people, we will all find something good to eat. On the other hand, if the restaurant has a short menu, I may find nothing good or one of the other people find nothing good (I know someone where our tastes are pretty much mutually exclusive), then settle for something barely acceptable to me and feel like I'm wasting money.

As for the lack of choice - there is pretty much no currently-manufactured cellphone that I would want to use and no currently-manufactured car that I would want to use. All options that I know of suck a lot and I would not want to spend my money on them. So yeah, not enough choice.

[Clawdeen 14,207]

Cool

Not even 10 seconds into the video and I’m already confused

[They call me Loyalty 1,948]

I see the world now, and I see the same wrongness I saw since I was a child. Nothing has changed, and neither did I. The universal education system and society have not altered my inherent values and morality. Because I do not change. So, I reject the world.
But my understanding of this global paradigm has increased over time, as to recognize the patterns that keep human creatures in a survivalistic state of mind, and how media and the world reinforce these negative behaviours with fear propaganda and false narratives within society. And it does not matter what place or society.
Because every form of government and political system is a re-branding of an older form of paganistic imperialism stemming from babylonian times. These are not countries, but empires. Hence the overt symbolism in monuments all around you. Those seemingly inoffensive works of architecture. But the level of dissociation and outright dullness within the public makes it impossible for the collective to understand the true ideological connotation implied in the existence of these monuments and works of idolatry, as they represent the skewed principles and bebased moral values of the world they live in.
It is a materialist and exploitative paradigm where human lives are treated as an exploitable resource. And this has created a myriad of distortions in the way human beings see and treat each other. With the heart of many, growing colder. As it says in scripture.
This global paradigm is mentioned in scripture as the "strong delusion" sent by God because human creatures have no love for the truth, and they have perfectly exemplified this with their actions, when you look at the corrupted state of the world.
They are lost. They have no wisdom. And they love the lie. So, guess what? The entire world has been deceived. The great majority of the world population is unaware as to the actual shape of this creation. And they think they evolve from cavemen. There were never cavemen, or something as the theory of evolution, because everything around us was created from the day one to seven of creation.

This entire paradigm is intended to conceal God from his own creation, and you can see how this has degraded the moral values of human kind. Exactly as it was mentioned in scripture.

In truth, you have no real choice. Other than the illusion thereof.

Edited June 28, 2022 by They call me Loyalty

[ExplosionMare 18,063]

On an individualistic perspective, I do find myself in situations where I make myself choose what others would want me to, in an attempt to avoid conflict/anxiety. However, that usually applies in situations where I am asked to make a swift choice, or respond to something I may not have the words for yet. If I am just by myself, though, I feel there is more freedom in my choices because if I am just off doing my own thing, there is very little pressure revolving around the things I do since I can only pressure myself at that point.

On a more societal scale, this makes me think a lot about what "popularity" is all about. It's quite easy to make the popular choice because it reduces anxiety, at least among the majority of people. Political influences also play a significant role in this, but my understanding of that isn't quite proficient enough to provide a detailed perspective on the matter.

[EpicEnergy 23,218]

Having the ability and opportunity to choose has its benefits and drawbacks, but I prefer to have choices rather than having none.