Mind Control: Is technology changing the way Black Men Think?

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(ThyBlackMan.com)

The reason that Alterations in our habits of mind matter is because they determine the scope and richness of our intellectual lives and also affect the depth of our culture.
—Nicholas Carr, author of “The shallows”

Over the last five years of browsing through thousands of websites, articles, YouTube videos, eBooks, and countless documentaries concerning our community; I have observed some stark realities that I would like to make mention of. One of the concepts that seem to fill the minds of our online and offline communities is that you can’t get positive and uplifting messages from the mainstream media concerning the African-American community. And, although there is a bit of truth to this we need to reassess the fact that information carries a social life of itself.

If everytime we here some negative news about our communities via mainstream media sites concerning (Stop & frisk) (Chicago Violence) (Crime Rates) (Prison Statistics) (Rap Beef) (Buying Power); and loose our cool, jump up, get rowdy, and start flapping our wings like ducks in a pond then we play into the ‘mind control” of mainstream media. I know we are still sensitive to the past realities and harsh cruelties that has shaped our thinking patterns. But, we must begin to think and not react to every connotation mentioned about our community. Bertrand Russell quoted “most people would rather die than think”; although this is happening in our communities we got to become smarter and not feed the headless monster.

We must be able to analyze, organize, evaluate, and apply the information that is coming into our communities for a purposeful end. Whatever types of information that is being distributed in the mainstream with the intentions to distract us from the real issues; we need to let it die out. In this information age it can definitely feel like you are being driven by someone with tunnel vision to the real issues that matter the most. But, this is where we are to build our own communication portals and control our own messages.

Think about how you get your information for a moment in this world. If you are like most African-Americans you derive a large number of your information from television, the internet, national magazine subscriptions and news sources. Most individuals typically accept the information that they receiving at face value, as if it were factual and objective, particularly when it comes from reputable sources; but rarely ever consider if the information that they are receiving is actually accurate, complete and unbiased.

In order for us to dictate the confines of technology and shape it for our benefit we need to think clearly about all the information we are encountering. We have to begin utilizing all of our thinking abilities and intellectual standards to evaluate the accuracy of the information and the credibility of the sources. We cannot get behind as we must learn how to compete on a global scale. Our competition in the future (Which is now) concerning our growth and development resides on an International scale and not within the confines of America’s border. Our learning needs to be based on a digital reality that helps us to understand how knowledge is created, disseminated and used in a commercially global environment. This constitutes that we either build our learning institutions or be shaped by the thoughts and ideals of others.

In a recent African-American consumer reportAfrican-American-Consumer-Report-2013.pdf conducted by (Nielsen) revealed that…

Blacks spend 44% more time on Education and Career sites and 21% more time on Family and Lifestyle sites than total market consumers.
Blacks are 14% more likely to spend time on Telecom/Internet Service sites
Blacks are more likely to own person websites.
Google is our biggest search engine at 15 million unique viewers a month at one point; more than yahoo, Bing, Ask.com, and Google Image.
Blacks are Social Media Savvy (Twitter, Facebook)
Blacks love spending time online
Blacks are 44% more likely than Total Market consumers to create a social media profile.
Blacks own smartphones Android (73%) versus iphones (27%)
Blacks Prefer mobile apps (Instagram, Facebook)

This is a lot of Information that can be used for against us. So, my question to everyone is “who’s is controlling the conversations in our communities? To an extent we control our own messages but what’s with all the negativity that comes from the airwaves. Who has access to all of this data? Are we letting the media dictate what we should be thinking about ourselves? Who controls the internet? These questions and more ought to be on our thinking radars in terms of building a media strategy to counteract this negativity against the psyche of our people.

We got to manage the conversations concerning ourselves and refuse to accept the stereotypes perpetuated by the oppressor; and those even in our own communities who have nothing better to write about except the ills of our own societies. I am not suggesting that self-reflection and being critical is a bad concept or that it should be avoided at all costs; because it can be a very important and critical element to our survival. But, what I am suggesting is that we ought to use criticism for solving-problems and not for the degradation of our own people.

Since, no solution is ever perfect however creative it may be there will always be room for improvement. If we are to truly understand the role of criticism then we must begin to grasp the role it plays in problem-solving. It is no secret that we as black men need to take a hard look at ourselves in the mirror and gain some perspective about our journey. But, for now we must focus our ideas on issues that allow us to expand across global borders, change the context of our outcomes, and understand Possibility Thinking as a gateway towards creating a brand new future.