World in Bubble
We live in a world in a bubble. We inflate everything that exists, so that almost everything loses its real roots, and seems redundant. In the end, we too lose our grip on the real reality, and live a lie.
Real Reality?
Critical social thinkers will certainly ask, is it possible, we know? true reality? For them, every observation and every opinion is always wrapped in a certain theory and point of view, so it can never be absolutely absolute, and can never really grasp, what really happened.
Jacques Derrida, the French philosopher, even argued, that what we can know are only traces of reality, and not reality itself. (Derrida, 1989) Therefore, even the certainty of knowledge is only an illusion. One who feels certain that he knows something means he is living in an illusion, because he cannot distinguish between traces of reality, and reality itself.
This argument does make sense, and has its own merits. However, in my opinion, we can know the real reality, even though that knowledge is not absolute, because reality changes, so human knowledge must also change.
In the philosophy of knowledge, it is clearly stated that the first condition of truth is the compatibility between word, thought, and reality. This condition, in my opinion, can be used to respond to the argument above, that our knowledge is relative, and we can only know traces of reality, and not reality itself.
Up to a certain point, humans are able to create a match between words, thoughts, and reality. At this point, the bubble is an element that makes us unable to see reality, but only a hyperbolic (exaggerated) form of reality that exists.
There is no match between words, thoughts, and reality, because reality is covered by bubbles, which makes it seem more, than the reality. In slang, this bubble can also be regarded as lebay (exaggerated).
Information and Image Bubbles
The first bubble is the information bubble. Every day, our minds are attacked by millions of information, ranging from advertisements, news in newspapers, to the latest gossip of famous artists. News coverage on TV and newspapers is often one-sided, namely focusing on one particular area with a certain point of view, but not covering other areas, and from other points of view.
As a result, what we get is an information bubble, that is, information overload about one area, and information overload using one particular point of view. We experience an information bubble on the one hand, and an information crisis on the other, because we become blind to what is happening in other countries, and myopic, because we are unable to see from another point of view.
Information bubbles lead to image bubbles. Image bubbles make something or someone appear more than they really are. Image bubbles produce misunderstandings, because people respect and value bubbles, and not their true reality, which is quite possibly unlike the bubbles they appear to be.
Bubbles of Hope and Disappointment
With an inflated image, people also have inflated expectations. However, because bubbles are not a reality, often even deceptive, people will be trapped in disappointment. Inflated expectations will eventually lead to great disappointment, because these expectations are far from the reality.
On the other hand, if we pay attention to the news in the mass media, we will feel that there is a bubble of negativity, namely excessive reporting of what is negative. This bubble of negativity, if not addressed with a critical attitude, will make us see the world also with a cynical and negative attitude.
Negative thinking is the beginning of negative action. This means that the negative world news bubble will also produce a negative perspective bubble, which is very likely to encourage negative actions, or indifference. Bubbles of negativity will also produce bubbles of disappointment, which will eventually discourage people from trying to improve things.
Economic and Political Bubble
The world of economics and business is also trapped in pseudo bubbles that obscure the situation. This means that the economy is no longer just a matter of buying and selling money, which is merely a medium of exchange, but turning back into the production of concrete goods that are useful for many people. This means that the economy must be changed, no longer just a financial bubble buying and selling money, but producing goods that can improve the quality of human life.
The current financial crisis was also caused by the bursting of a financial bubble in the US financial system which was no longer under control, and spread to the rest of the world. In my opinion, financial bubbles are necessary, but must be under the control of the government and society, and remain minimal in number, compared to economic activity that produces concrete goods and services.
We are also experiencing a political bubble. There have been many analyzes of the politics of imagery. This happens, because politicians live in bubbles, which cover their own reality, and reveal others, which have been inflated, to the wider community. The result is clear, the political bubble exaggerates the image of a politician, but the performance is poor, so it does not improve the situation, it may even damage it.
Culture and Education Bubble
Our academic world is also living in bubbles. Campuses in Indonesia are trying to inflate themselves into international campuses, but they are far from the anchor of the world, and are almost deprived of the pressing problems of reality. Research is busy with technical bubbles and grants, and forgets to understand what's really going on in the world.
Various countries try to inflate their culture, thus trying to cover up the ulcers of their political behavior. Statistical data and analysis are twisted in such a way that it produces an image of a bubble that has almost nothing to do with actual reality. Political bubbles are lies that are twisted as if they are the truth.
Bubbles in the social world also affect the way people see themselves. In the end, people will also experience a self-bubble, which is seeing themselves as more than they really are. Narcissism is a bubble of self, and according to David Brooks, author of The Social Animal, sees narcissism as a symptom of modern humans, namely seeing themselves more than they really are. (Brooks, 2011)
Bubbles are pseudo worlds that envelop the true reality. The bubble is a symbol of grandeur and greatness, but is actually empty and fragile inside. Therefore, we cannot simply believe in the social bubbles around us.
In life, we must try to see what is beyond the senses. It's not the supernatural, it's the invisible that lies behind every bubble around us. The world in the bubble is a world full of imagery, which often turns into a world full of lies.
