In a socio-psychological sense, Degeneracy is "to fall below a normal or desirable level in physical, mental, or moral qualities, to deteriorate." Isn't this what's happening to our Society? How to analyze this sociological phenomenon without sounding like a conservative eccentric?
Looking at things from a neutral, socio-psychological perspective, while taking human nature and things like pop culture and mass media into consideration is probably the best way. We are, by nature, hedonists and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. However, we tend to cross the line and we tend to cross it a lot.
Conventional media vs new media
Crossing this undefined line doesn't have to be a bad thing either, but why do we glorify degeneracy in all of its inglorious shapes and forms? Why is attraction favored over accomplishment? Why is hard work in the shadow of shock and grotesque? Most importantly, who is degeneracy Glorified by? The people or the media?
These are, perhaps, philosophical and not sociological issues, but it's hard not to see how these two disciplines intertwine and overlap when it comes to degeneracy that has, seemingly, penetrated every pore of our collective being.
Television is a platform of degeneracy. Reality shows, talk show programs, tabloid news, even political shows have become nothing but cheap entertainment for the masses.
Things have gone so far that politics have become a theater of the absurd. Sensationalism is what the modern media has reduced itself to. There is no room left for critical thought or objective reporting.
The only thing that's left is the world wide web. The internet has become a sanctuary and about the only place we can freely exchange our opinions, but for how long?
The internet is being ruined by governments and corporations, who are desperate to get their hands on it and engineer information with one goal only: to further brainwash the masses and generate profit. Meanwhile, social media has become a platform for narcissism and attention-seeking, full of clickbait news articles, advertisements, and spam.
How do we combat degeneracy?
The most important question of all is: How do we combat degeneracy?
By doing the exact opposite. Instead of falling for clickbait news, let's ignore them. Instead of watching reality television, let's forget about it all together. The collective consciousness of our society is being attacked, manipulated with and recreated constantly.
Change comes from within. We need to battle this individually. Like Gandhi allegedly, said: "Be the change that you wish the see in the world."
