this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2023
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66
how prevalent are psychological warfare tactics in everyday life? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
21 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Whether consciously or subconsciously instigated. By ordinary citizens, authority figures, shop workers, bus drivers, or really anyone for that matter

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[–] fubo 38 points 1 year ago

In personal relationships we usually call them things like "abuse tactics", "manipulation", etc.

Gaslighting gets all the press, but plain bullying is more common. It doesn't have to be a threat of violence: "go along with my whims or I'll create an unpleasant scene" is bullying too.

"You don't get to leave until my needs are satisfied" is another. Heck, I've seen that from car salesmen confronted by a customer who just wants to pay up front for a car, no financing, no extras. After the check was handed over, but before the car was brought out, there suddenly were a bunch of extra forms to say "no, I don't want these expensive extras."

[–] sir_pronoun 31 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Would you believe it, I am waging psychological warfare against you right now. It's not working, though. I am very bad at this.

[–] SandmanXC 18 points 1 year ago

Good on you for doing your best!

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

Or is that just what you want us to think?

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago

Any kind of marketing and advertising is psychological warfare against you. Especially when the topic is political.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Stores buy specifically tailored perfume to encourage people to buy in demand products, it's not even a secret or anything it's s common practice. Some smaller stores do the same but with music playlists.

Another common one I've seen is adverts, which are exactly that and so common that lots of people don't even notice them anymore.

Then of course there's the simpler things, like the design of a website. Well designed websites make the difference between a customer and a passer-by.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I used to run a small business, and we did a great number of things (relative to our business size and industry) in order to facilitate sales. Every touch point was designed to minimize the friction between the guest and them spending money. Both subtle things and obvious things.

The marketing started as soon as one visited the website (tracking pixels and FB for re-marketing ads) or called for info (we would try to capture at least name and email for additional marketingβ€”always with explicit permission: β€œMay we have your email address so we can send you additional periodic information?”). We had phone call flows and maximum hold times (3 mins).

We retained detailed guest notes and information which we would use to tailor their following visits (manually; any kind of automation was beyond our technical ability at the time).

I’d have to spend some time thinking of all the other ways we did things. Most of which we implemented in a Disney Magic sort of way, in the sense that things are just sort of magically happening without the guest being concerned about it.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

And? Did it pay off to put that amount of effort in?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

It did! A lot of it was quite marginal, but on the whole it was all orchestrated nicely and worked pretty seamlessly.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

In marketing we call them persuasion tactics.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago

Advertising is basically psychological warfare by the rich against the poor, so anyone who isn't taking their online mental hygiene seriously is being constantly subjected to that

[–] jwagner7813 10 points 1 year ago

Have you looked at your phone recently? That's all that thing is unless you literally don't use it for anything other than calls and texts, and even then, phone manufacturers are constantly constructing their OS to guide you to other functions.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Some people do this in their marriages/relationships. From petty things to manipulation, full blown psychological attacks, even physical violence. Some people are narcissists, psychopaths or just hate another or do it to their kids.

Some have a toxic work environment. I know people who had this severe enough to take sick leave and/or quit.

I say it's pretty common in everyday life of lots and lots of people.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I went from hourly call center to on call 24/7 and being the only point of contact.

When my phone notifies me, just any notification, I panic. The phone rings, I panic. Its been over a year since I left.

Yes, its part and parcel to other issues of mental health, but... Man, do you know how often you get notifications? I've turned most off and still some days I'm ready to smash my phone so it will shut up and I can breathe normally.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I think you replied to the wrong comment.

That being said: Your story doesn't sound healthy at all. Your brain is basically on high alert 24/7. And you already have severe symptoms. Feeling panic on a daily basis isn't normal.

I think you have to find a way to deal with it. Probably the best advice would be to contact an expert. That'd most likely be a therapist. And they know how to deal effectively with things like this. And mental health in general.

My uninformed opinion is: People absolutely need downtime. You can't be on high alert 24/7. Well, you can for quite a while, especially if you're still in your 20s. But you will break down at some point. Try to re-learn this. Start with taking some time off every day to practice. Take this time for yourself. I don't know you. Maybe read a book, meditate, do crochet, listen to an audiobook and most importantly: put that phone away. Turn it off or put it into another room. Learn to calm down and not constantly be close to the brink of the next panic. Even if you only do it for a few minutes every day. It's okay if you start with some small things.

And there gotta be some technical solution to the problem. You can turn off notifications and read your mail and chat messages twice a day like we used to do 15 years ago. Have different alert tones for different apps, so you immediately know what's up. You can even assign individual rintones to your contacts, so you can straightaway hear who's calling and maybe the adrenaline will stay where it is, because you know it's only your sister-in-law. I don't know exact advice for your life. Some solution intended to break that cycle that triggers you and causes the panic attack to develop.

[–] Fleur__ 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What exactly is your definition of psychological warfare. This question needs parameters otherwise people will claim anything is psychological warfare

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

In this question I was more specifically referring to the psychological warfare between citizens, in the quest for dominance and control in the social hierarchy present in our societies

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Grocery stores, hold music, business deals, recruiting...it's all around you.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Do you mean warfare between nations? Or would psychology warfare include marketing cognitive manipulation?