Digital Hegemony: The Interplay of Technology and Capitalism

The digital revolution has undeniably reshaped our world.

I guess we all saw couple of episodes of "Black Mirrow" where each episodes explores and solidifies some of the ongoing domination on human living, creating and working hours all defined by big tech corporations. In one episodes, famously, a character goes through rough time living and exciting after her social media points are dropping just because she chose to sympathises with a man who was almost begging for likes while asking coworkers to grab green healthy cocktails he purchased as a gift for all.

But beneath the surface of our connection and convenience lies a complex dance between technological innovation and capitalist forces. This article explores the concept of "digital hegemony," the dominance of a particular set of technological and economic interests in the digital sphere.

Understanding Hegemony

Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Marxist theorist, introduced the concept of hegemony. Hegemony describes how a ruling class maintains power not just through coercion, but also by shaping cultural norms and values. In the digital age, this translates to control over the infrastructure, platforms, and applications that define our online experiences.

Just recently wave of videos spread around YouTube and instagram where users and influencers warned all the audience that instagram made it official that due to AI learning algorithms needing more content, all the posts with any type of imagery will be used (for free) by the giant and fed to the machine.

The Interplay

• Tech Giants as Gatekeepers: A handful of tech companies wield immense power over how information flows and what content we see. Their algorithms and data collection practices can influence public discourse, consumer behavior, and even elections.
• Surveillance Capitalism: Many digital platforms rely on a business model of "surveillance capitalism," where user data is collected and monetized. This creates a power imbalance, with users essentially providing the raw material for their own manipulation.
• The Commodification of Attention: Our attention spans are increasingly valuable commodities, constantly barraged by targeted advertising and content designed to be addictive. This focus on maximizing engagement can come at the expense of critical thinking and informed decision-making.

Let's quickly dive into some statistics here: At the moment there are estimates that around 5.35 to 5.44 billion people are online globally, which translates to roughly 66% to 67%of the world's population. Imagine all of those users are constantly shaped and re-shaped as the consumer industry evolves. Then lets multiply it into economic sectors, then niches and we will have a pile of non recycling information thrown into our lives and simply standing there, watching our every move to grab out attention.

Some improvements worth mentioning will be, finally being able to be offered tailored items, options and more. Data that we gave up made the industry stronger in some sense. However as the decades flew by, industry decided to simply shape our opinions into what they have to offer.

Lets remind ourselves that we still live in the world of disinformation, news that are too loud and made out of gossips, idols that no longer represent global subjects, but rather show us their own personal problems and making a quick heavy "buck" out of it.

Challenges and Considerations

• Erosion of Privacy: The pervasiveness of digital surveillance raises concerns about privacy and the potential for social control.
• Net Neutrality: An open internet where all data is treated equally is essential for a healthy digital ecosystem.However, concerns exist about internet service providers (ISPs) prioritizing certain types of content over others.
• The Digital Divide: Unequal access to technology and digital literacy creates an uneven playing field, further marginalizing those already on the fringes.

Digital hegemony is a complex issue with no easy solutions. However, by fostering critical awareness and promoting alternative platforms and business models, we can work towards a more equitable and democratic digital landscape.

We have new communities where people value their time and efforts. Trendsetters, that show us how to free ourselves from corporate "frames" and more and more concision crowds that choose healthy diets and choose to find information through previously named traditional means. It's really funny how we don't have annually produced movies about end of the earth nowadays. Just by scrolling multiple streaming channels, I found myself looking through 3 major categories - easy and stupid comedies, lots of unnecessary love stories that mostly focus on individuals that can't solve their differences and if they do, those movies become classics, then horror movies which are mostly in mixed category with lots of SGI.

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Leyla Rasulzade

Strategic Business Development | B2B | Building High-Value Partnerships | Consultant on Mid -Eurasian & Asian Art Markets | Consulting on Building Personal Brands