Daily Post 1354
IS MEDIA OUR ONLY DESTINATION?
If it were the only destination then something could have happened during the course of the idea to the blueprint and the journey. A little jamboree at the destination could add some value to the satisfaction of a work properly completed. In the real world today, from the announcement / initiation itself it becomes a media spectacle. The lingo which we use today is a despicable depiction of the same reality. Photo-ops have become the real event. The quality of the event is what finally counts. That is more real than the activity itself and people have perfected the art of making the best out of it.
The foundation stone and razzmatazz associated with it will never tell you what lies in store for the project, but a brilliant multimedia event documentation and dissemination would deliver whatever the stakeholder wants to achieve. The circuit is complete. Earlier making it to the headline was a task and a whole load of activity was only oriented towards the purpose. Today it has become all expansive. The blaring headings on the YouTube Indian public life videos gives a clear indication that it has been made for that purpose only. There is no societal gain involved.
Max Weber describes bureaucracy to be based on task specialisation and anybody occupying a particular position would deliver the same. Impersonal (impersonality and personal indifference) is said to another critical element. Break with this classical position is being seen for a long time. Social Media has added another persistent 24/7 content creation to build an image. Playing to the gallery Social Media does in brilliant manner, each element feeding into the other. Every activity is reported dutifully, way more than what you report to your official superiors. Solo credit is the name of the game when in reality only rock solid teams can deliver.
However much we detest COVID-19, we want our posts to get viral. Media and only media seems to have become our orientation. Followers, fake or bot created or captive or stage managed is what this media is all about. It is touted as influence by all sorts of individuals and organisations. Created out of duplicity, we have influencers as well. Influencers start posing as media Moguls who can sway people. What is the reality is difficult to say. But the fact of the matter is that we are enmeshed in a manner that this nature of media engagement is slowly become a living curse.*
DISENGAGED WITH WORK TO FEED THE MEDIA IS A LIVING REALITY.