Modern Society deems Virtue Signalling to be a vice than a virtue, but to me it appears to be both. In this post I will be first discussing the vice and then give an explanation to why it appears to be virtuous as well.
Before I get into explaining the effects of Virtue Signalling it is important we revisit the definition of it. Virtue Signalling is when he/she is giving the audience an illusion of contributing to moral discourse, when in reality he/she intends to appear virtuous in front of the audience. It is more of a public image building project than solving or addressing the real issue.
Why we virtue signal
One of the reasons I believe why we virtue signal is because we are continuously surrounded by virtue signallers, just look around Politicians, Media Influencers and Celebrities. These individuals crave for social approval and have no sense of rational thinking. They take side of the larger audience even when in reality the audience is wrong. Being in an environment full of virtue signallers, make you question what your moral duties are as a member of this society and that eventually leads you to become a virtue signaller. And as you become one of them your actions of virtue signalling cause the same fate for someone that looks up to you.
Rise of Social media
Almost everyday when I tune into my socials like Instagram or Twitter I am instantly disheartened with the amount of virtue signaling I pickup. The level of virtue signalling has got so bad that, one is now not able distinguish what is real. It is clear by now that social media has blown up virtue signalling out of proportions than anything in the past .So now you might ask,
Did virtue signalling exist before social media ?
Yes, but at a small scale. You see, we humans are social creatures we need to coexist with other humans to grow and achieve our goals.
Even before social media virtue signalling existed but it was very difficult to execute compared to what it is today. Back then people got to know other people only in the physical real world and as a result it was easy to pick up on fake people. With social media it is a different story as there is no effective method for tracking reputation of an individual and one can easily fake their personality to appear perfect.
The Vice in Virtue Signalling
Virtue signallers can mislead audience into criticizing something or someone in an unfair way. The audience in most cases may have the heart in the right place, it is their lack of ability to think rationally that causes them to join the act of virtue signalling. A popular example when talked about virtue signalling is the immigrant issues. You will see that just before elections politicians come out with ridiculous statements like the countries should be borderless just with the motive to win the hearts of the immigrants. Rationally speaking this is not possible. How can you possibly let anyone into your country?! What about the social benefits that's meant for the citizens of the country?! Do they have to share it now ?! And as a result politicians are able to divide people into two different extremes.
Virtue signallers in some cases try to outdo previous signallers by criticizing more harshly just to be recognized as more virtuous than the crowd. As a result of this virtue signallers may cross the line and do things that are unlawful.
The Virtue in Virtue Signalling
While I have explained the negative effects of virtue signalling it is important to see the other side of the coin as well. Here are a few reasons I believe virtue signalling is beneficial. Some of the religions we know of have practices like fasting which is scientifically proven to be a good healthy practice. Fasting in Muslims the during Ramadan helps detox the body. Here in some cases you will have followers of the religion trying to demonstrate that they are more religious to other members by trying to strictly follow this practice. This signalling in one way is good as it drives more people into being more strict with fasting. In most cases virtue signallers like the religious leaders here in this example are aware that they are virtue signalling to the crowd.
When it comes to raising money for a good cause virtue signalling can be very beneficial. Get a few popular figures to donate money and then signal it. And you will find people competing with other people to donate more towards the cause just to appear more virtuous.
Conclusion
The answer to Virtue Signalling being right or wrong is paradoxical. There are situations where signalling is demanded and situations where it is not necessary. In my opinion the ability to think rationally in a particular situations will allow you make the right decision.
If you made it till here thank you so much. Also feel free to check out my other posts here
TL;DR
1) Virtue Signalling is both a vice and a virtue. As situations arises one must use critical thinking to know the difference and act accordingly.
2) Beware of Social media as it is mostly filled with virtue signallers that lack critical thinking.