Why Emotions Are More Important Now Than Ever
2016 has been an emotional year to say the least.
It has been a year of unexpected political, social and economical table-cloth pulling. A year where western democratic society seems a bit haggard, a bit tired around the eyes, a bit emotional.
In this ‘post-factual’ society the media seems more malleable than ever. Pollsters are ineffective. Experts cannot be trusted and the people seem not just divided, but completely inconsolable. Or at least that’s how the internet makes it seem.
And making it ‘seem’, appears to be the flavour of the month. Make no mistake there is a game-changing shift here. In this ‘post-factual’ society emotional appeal ranks higher than integrity and truth.
So why are we so susceptible to our emotions?
No matter how sophisticated and technologically-advanced we become as a species, we will always be driven by our emotions. A drive that motivates basic human needs and regulates social behavior. Emotions have even been suggested to have met the pressures of the survival of the species 1,2. Emotions override what psychologists once considered the main drivers of human life: hunger, sex and the will to survive 3. Emotions have always been our guiding light with every evolutionary step mankind has taken.
So why are we so emotional now?
Traditionally emotions are to be controlled. They are viewed with suspicion. An archaic throwback to a cold-blooded reptilian part of our minds. However as our society has become more advanced, it has become less intuitive and more data driven. Combine this with the latest advances in psychological research and we have the marketing equivalent of a tactical nuclear bomb. Scalpel-like precision and utter devastation at our fingertips. No demographic is safe!
So that’s it now, are we are doomed to be ranting and raving loonies forever?
No! Of course not!
As a society we are already beginning to accept the ‘post-factual’ world we live in. As usual it’s the younger generation, with their easy digital fluency who are much more savvy to this shift. For the rest of us we need to accept we are emotional beings. We need to learn how to capitalise on our feelings and know when others are capitalising on ours.
Are you ready for an emotional era?
CrowdEmotion provides the layer of emotional recognition, interpretation and response at a global scale for people who operate in the emotional era. Find out more at www.crowdemotion.co.uk
References
1. Ekman, P. (1992). Facial expressions of emotion: New findings, new questions. Psychological science, 3(1), 34–38.
2. Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (1990). The past explains the present: Emotionaladaptations and the structure of ancestral environments. Ethology and sociobiology, 11(4–5), 375–424.
3. Ekman, P. (2007). Emotions revealed: Recognizing faces and feelings to improve communication and emotional life. Macmillan.
