S4, Part 11, Capitalism Games: Status Update

The Subversive Therapist

The psychotherapy patient is trained to walk into the therapy room to sit or lie down on the couch. Immediately they begin to describe their life by speaking in longform. This is a pastime: a semi-ritualistic and socially programmed activity of updating the therapist with their status as a self. When the patient sits down, they launch their Status Update: the patient assists the therapist in helping them “catch up” on what has been “going on lately”. It concludes when they say, “that’s what has been going on” or “that’s what is new with me.” This is a stereotyped and repetitive form of being that is structured by fill-in-the-blank answers. A pastime is composed of descriptions and discussion without emotional affect.

Therefore, the Monologue is the driver for the pastime Status Update, i.e., the generation of content by and about oneself. In digital form, Status Update is a reflection on current news events including news about oneself, e.g., a tweet or Facebook post. A measurement of one’s worth and social standing are calculated based on this computer-network connection: the number of Likes, views, shares, subscriptions, etc.

Like in psychotherapy, Status Update is a socially programmed pastime by Big Tech. In both cases, the repetitive nature of the activity—and the lack of intimacy—makes Status Update grow boring. The platform controls the framing for the update, e.g., Instagram Story or SnapChat Snaps, and the programming, e.g., selection of emojis, like button, etc. The pastime of Status Update often turns into a game on social media. For example, Trump supporters play a digital Kick Me game to “own the libs” by sharing a meme that says, “Fuck Your Feelings.”

In the Mass Shooter game, there is online “leakage” of future crimes in nearly half of the incidents. If the mass shooter leaks, they are much more likely to engage in a performative (costume or live stream) massacre. The digital trails (posts, texts) and leaks reference the desire to exterminate people. For example, Columbine killer Dylan Harris made his private, internal experience public. He had a website that among other things included bomb making ingredients and a “Shit List” of despicable people.

In psychotherapy, the transparency of the self creates emotional resonance and intimacy. The transparency of the self via Capitalism’s Status Update ensures a form of self-promotion, self-branding, and self-incorporation (bye bye privacy and hello telehealth!). With the virtual world, the subject (user) is now able to give a Status Update across multiple tech platforms. This information is recombined and shared across channels, profiles, podcasts, etc. Once upon a time (and still to some extent) a person went to a financial officer and updated them on their financial status, credit score, assets, etc. Now, wearables and smartphones—with the ubiquity of online access—symbiotically tie the private self to public markets. The status of the user is seamlessly updated in real time. Instead of twentieth century informants and listening devices for a secret police force, Big Tech is Happy To Help! the user manage themselves for free!

The Status Update is often a reflection of how Awful life is. The Black Mirror episode titled “Joan Is Awful” reveals the Media game version of Ain’t It Awful (AIA). The CEO of the fictional streaming monopoly “Streamberry”—itself a parody of Netflix—is asked about the creation of personalized content: “Why awful? Why is it all so negative?” The CEO replies that the corporation attempted more positive content, but the test subjects didn’t buy it:

It didn’t chime with their neurotic view of themselves. What we found instead was when we focused on their more weak or selfish or craven moments, it confirmed their innermost fears and it put them in a state of mesmerized horror. Which really drives engagement. They literally can’t look away.

Recorded on 8/02/2023

References

p. 79, Peterson, J. & Densley J. (2021). The violence project: How to stop a mass shooting epidemic. Abrams Press: New York.

p. 18, Cullen, D. (2009). Columbine. Twelve: New York.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Is_Awful

Visit MankatoTherapist.com for more information and to contact Andrew Archer.