In a highly competitive world, strong on letting out emotions, aggression and urge to control, the voices of rational thinking individuals is a far cry. Today so overwhelming is the emotionally overpowering content visible in the social media that one’s thinking is drowned in the barrage ! For a long time there have been people ‘shooting from the lip’ and with a penchant for sensational revelations and opinions based on obscure facts. Add to this is the ability to ‘verbally fire’ first and apologize later if there is a ‘storm in the tea-cup’ or the established ‘apple-cart is getting upset’ !
With ‘WhatsApping’ becoming the most handy means of communication for sharing of news, views and ideas between groups, there appears to be an alarming rise in misinformation with malicious intent, leading the authorities to hasten the implementation of measures aimed at curbing the spread of fake news which have triggered serious incidents of violence in the country. Also, in a mad race of being one up, there’s a blitz of forwards, without checking source, facts or data, to impress others.
Why do some people behave so irrationally on the different platforms, even if they have no ulterior motives or axe to grind. Communication experts have another term for this- ‘An Amygdala Hijack’ – an immediate and overwhelming emotional response out of proportion to the stimulus because it has triggered a more significant emotional threat. The Amygdala is the part of our brain that handles emotions. During an Amygdala Hijack, the Amygdala “hijacks” or shuts down the neo-cortex or the rational thought processing of the brain. The Amygdala is responsible for the perception of emotions such as anger, fear, and sadness, as well as the controlling of aggression. The Amygdala helps to store memories of events and emotions so that an individual may be able to recognize similar events in the future.
We all undergo ‘Brain-fade’ some time not only on the social media but in all spheres of living. Quite frequently, we ‘lose it’ while bumbling into over-crowded trains to work /travel, negotiating impossible vehicular traffic, dealing with unruly people, non-sympathetic bosses, civic authorities, difficult suppliers/vendors and debates with younger family members in the inevitable generation gap ! The trick is to get hold of yourself when the ‘Hijack’ is getting triggered and get into the pause mode and take a deep breath. No action at that point is the best action ! Why indulge in antics for which you have to say sorry later – pause now to smile later !
(pic source : mirrorcitizen.dailymirror.lk)
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