As Cambridge Analytica and related stories
have unfolded over the past few weeks, I’ve wrestled with a particularly
troubling prospect: that these breaches of privacy are validation of changing
beliefs and thought patterns.
Cambridge Analytica admitted to creating
ads, blogs and articles to convince users (their test subjects) that some ideal
was true, successfully changing these users’ opinions. This is a very powerful
concept – one that we as marketers need to take very seriously. We grew up with
marketers trying to convince us that Coca-Cola was better than Pepsi and vice
versa, but today we’re faced with organizations actually changing our
fundamental beliefs.
While this treads into sci-fi territory, a
Harvard Medical School research study is showing this is completely plausible
and likely. In the study, a group of adult volunteers – none of whom could
previously play the piano – were split into three groups and sent into three
identical rooms with identical pianos:
1. The first group was given intensive piano practice for five days
2. The second group was given nothing to do with the piano at all
3. The last group was told to simply imagine that they were practicing
piano exercises for the next five days
Unsurprisingly, the brains of group #2
showed no structural changes while those in group #1 showed marked structural
changes in the area of the brain associated with finger movement.
What was truly astonishing was that group
#3 saw changes in brain structure that were almost as pronounced as those who
actually had lessons and practice. "The power of imagination" is not
a metaphor, it seems – it’s real and has physical evidence thanks to our
brains.
This is where Facebook, its programming
structure, and its user habits may be a strong culprit for some of the societal
trends we are witness to.
Facebook encourages “friends,” and as
humans we gravitate to people with similar beliefs, backgrounds, schooling,
occupations, and especially values. We are less attracted to a friend with
opposing thoughts – especially those who challenge the constitution of our
thoughts and beliefs. This is most evident at the extremes (e.g., an individual
with white supremacist beliefs is unlikely to immerse themselves in LGBTQ+
communities).
What this tends to encourage is a
reinforcement of group beliefs – a digital mob mentality that is aiding in the
increased polarization of society.
As one Oxford University researcher
describes it, we need to pay attention to how the technological communication
paths affect us:
“… one vital fact I have learnt (in my
day-to-day research at Oxford University) is that the brain is not the
unchanging organ that we might imagine. It not only goes on developing,
changing and, in some tragic cases, eventually deteriorating with age, it is
also substantially shaped by what we do to it and by the experience of daily
life. When I say ‘shaped,’ I'm not talking figuratively or metaphorically; I'm
talking literally. At a microcellular level, the infinitely complex network of
nerve cells that make up the constituent parts of the brain actually changes in
response to certain experiences and stimuli.” - Professor Susan Greenfield
Awareness of these communication paths and
how these influences affect the microcellular structure and biochemistry of our
brains could encourage further studies on how social influence affects both
children and adults and help us prepare for the ongoing effects.
I firmly believe this knowledge can be used
to benefit our society. From the large strides being noted in the
plant-based/vegan movement, women’s empowerment, and the student anti-gun
movement developing in the U.S…. social media is flexing its muscles and
showing how solidarity can change a nation’s beliefs and even stretching
globally. How much more could Dr. David Suzuki have accomplished to reduce the
effects our pollution if he had today’s social media platform – even Netflix –
to share his messages from The Nature of Things TV program. He could have
rallied an entire movement with ease.
What
to do with this information today?
We
all need to be conscious of the power and ability to alter thought patterns and
affect the microcellular structure of our brains. As marketers, we need to be
cautious to not overstep the line between good marketing and biochemical
alterations… or good old “brainwashing.” We all need to take a collective stand
about the ethical and responsible use of knowledge and data.
Halmyre Vice-President Ursula Green is a chief experience officer and is deeply committed to working for our clients' clients. She is an expert in strategic customer-centric service design, analysis and ideation. Ursula is a member of the Canadian Marketing Association 2020--21 Customer Experience Council. Ursula has worked for a wide range of brands from household names such as BMW, Mastercard, Home Depot and Canon to service-based organizations such as Women's College Hospital and Confederation College.