Social Media Groups: A Veritable Microcosm of the Banana Republic Paradigm

One really should think very carefully about whether they really want to be in so many Facebook groups. Which, you do realize, the designers of the widely consumed social media site tend to heavily promote in the hopes of keeping large numbers of users immersed in the use of their platform for hours and hours on end - when maybe, just maybe, most of us really could (or should) be doing something else, something much more productive or beneficial with our valuable time.

Of course, I too like to find like-minded people to share my hobbies and interests with, and thereby conveniently connect with them via a remarkably versatile electronic platform such as Facebook, but the unfortunate fact remains that a whole lot of these social media groups actually end up serving as a vehicle for a high school (or even mafia) style clique to form; a cloistered, insular little world with its own built-in social structure (aka, pecking order), with a curious and sometimes rather shockingly obvious pseudo-cult-like dichotomy.

Take for example, the fact many of these clique-centric groups tend to be headed up by a more or less charismatic leader, who naturally provides a kind of dogma - a strictly defined way of behaving and even thinking that one is highly discouraged to not deviate from. Therefore, if one happens to not agree with any or even ALL of the established guidelines and strictures of a given group, they obviously do not really belong. After all, dogma is dogma. The rules are the rules. In other words, one is required to drive safely between the painted lines, and stop when and where indicated. And if you don't... well, you're a rule-breaker, a miscreant, a truant. That's just how it works.

And just like in the Real World, the one beyond our all-consuming personal computer monitors, when you get out of line (even just a little), there is always someone waiting to slap you down. Sometimes they slap you down gently. Sometimes however, they tend to be much, much more overbearing. Which is all fine, I guess. Because, after all, the group belongs to the charismatic leader and his or her trusted compatriots, doesn't it? They started the whole shebang in the first place, so obviously, they can do whatever they want. Within reason, of course.

But sometimes this head honcho, this "Grand Poobah," this charismatic Mao Zedong type dude who started the group in the first place has more than just a few simple rules. Sometimes they even have something akin to a "Little Red Book" (the Chinese Communist bible, for those not familiar with the man and his mythology). Sometimes though, the charismatic leader type person, the veritable Moses of any given Facebook group, doesn't even have time for all those tempestuous commandments! Sometimes, the group itself is merely a vehicle designed to worship the vaunted Numero Uno, the god-like el Presidente of their very own electronic banana republic. But then... little tin gods, or just mere shepherds, as the case may in fact be, also tend to be rather busy watching over their flock (or basking in the glow of their very own heavenly glory), you know.

So obviously, group leaders need lieutenants. They need enforcers. Therefore, as a natural result, there are usually at least a couple of 'Oz the Great and Powerful' types, who serve as almighty "group moderators." Sometimes there are even half a dozen of these free ranging, mounted policing sort of fellows. Or, God forbid, even more than that! In fact, some lesser group members, who may actually be positioned a bit further down on ye olde Totem Pole, are in fact so overzealous, and eager to climb the ladder skyward, just to hopefully ingratiate themselves with the Great Leader, that they tend to assume the unofficial role of moderator.

These self-appointed grand wizards of social media are always lurking in the background, ready to lower the boom on nasty miscreants. It's not even consciously vicious on their part most of the time though, thank God. Nah! That's just how human group dynamics tend to work, you see. Because obviously, there is always a natural need to both monitor and moderate what everyone in a given group writes or shares. Obviously. I mean, what if someone shares a sexually suggestive, or downright pornographic image? What if someone suddenly decides it's okay to make negative comments about a given race or ethnic group? What if someone is just too clueless to realize that they really shouldn't be dropping the F-bomb all willy-nilly on a social media platform that is actually intended to appeal to people of all age groups?

So let's be honest then; some people are simply not as nice, tactful, or polite as others. Some people are even rather clueless, and don't even seem to realize what they're really up to. They simply do not think too awful much, or deeply enough, rather, before they suddenly share a potentially disruptive post, and then... hastily press ENTER. But mostly, I think everyone at the heart of any given dispute or social media group kerfuffle actually just secretly covets the group leader's lofty position.

I mean, "Everybody wants to rule the world," don't they? Well, certainly not everyone, but you get the point. So, whether we all realize it or not, some folks within the group dynamic are just not quite as content as they really could or should be to simply be a mere member. You known, just another face in the crowd. After all, it's the group leader's world, you know. Get out of line, and you may get the cyber equivalent of ye olde death ray; the cruel and immediately punishing lighting bolt that suddenly comes raining down from the Internet heavens above to smite the wicked. Hence, the need for strictly defined group rules in the very first place.

Unfortunately however, overly restrictive Facebook group rules, or needlessly overbearing group moderators, can often stimulate the inadvertent creation of certain individuals who themselves may not realize that they have indeed become what is commonly known as a "troll." And as everybody who's ever been in any social media group for any appreciable length of time well knows, a troll is any particularly troublesome person who may, for various reasons, tend to feel quite alienated from (or simply in disagreement with) many of the other members. In other words, they feel (or may simply be made to feel) like a typical outsider.

It should be noted however, that these pesky trolls are often actually just deeply frustrated people who, for whatever reason, simply feel that they do not belong. They may even see some key flaw, or even a whole array of flaws, in the established parameters of the group dynamic, and therefore feel the need to antagonize, or "needle," the group leader and his or her wolf pack every single chance they get. In other words, a troll likes to harass the herd, perhaps in the hopes of picking off and feasting upon the life-giving crimson gore of the weakest (or simply most vulnerable) members when their carefully timed shenanigans inevitably cause a frightful stampede - or rather, a mass disruption of the otherwise calm and contented overall demeanor of the flock.

Because, really, that's actually what it's like when you're part of a group-think mentality. One really is just another one of the hopefully contented grazing herd - whether this fact may be fully realized or not. Which is a dichotomy that is perfectly fine for some, but for others, it may actually be a matter of waiting in the wings, always hoping beyond hope to one day be the next big, self-aggrandizing group leader type person, whose own excrement supposedly doesn't stink like everybody else's most certainly does. And yes, I really do think that most people really are just that tribal. I think human beings as a whole are often simply far too group-centric for their own good. Oh well.