Advertising

Growing up, I was always fascinated by the way that certain fashion brands printed their logos onto their clothing in giant letters, and how a lot of people who wore those clothes would shame others who didn't. I realized the companies came up with a way to cheat their consumers which is so underhanded (and unfortunately clever): They achieve more than free advertising. They actually reach a point where their customers pay to advertise for them.

Labels and perception

Finding a label for a social phenomenon can be both liberating and limiting. It's a huge relief to finally discover that others are sharing your lens; that you're observing something real instead of trying to describe an occurrence as subjective and elusive as a dream. But labels can also become constricting when they become buzzwords, are stretched onto things and people they don't fit, and when they're used as shorthand instead of actually exploring the topic they refer to.

On a related note, often times an experience or observation is only seen as real when it's shared. The confirmation is believed to validate it, but this is not always the case. Obviously, multitudes of people can believe a falsehood, and an event or perception can still be just as true if you're the only one it touches. This isn't to say that everyone's perception is equally correct; some are entirely wrong. I just wonder where to draw the line. This sort of connects to the classic question of whether a falling tree makes a sound if no one is around to hear it. A more modern version would be, "If you post something on social media and no one 'likes' it or comments, is that the sound of one hand clapping?" I think it might be.