Mass Formation | Do You Follow the Crowd?
Summary: Do you follow the crowd or are you an independent thinker? Mass formation is a psychological tactic used by the news media, politicians, and government to make you comply by breaking you down. You'd be surprised how much of your thinking you let others do for you.
Are you someone who follows the crowd, or are you a free independent thinker? Perhaps you believe you are an independent thinker, but are actually unable to think critically and just do as you’re told because it’s easier. Is it easier for you to belong to a collective that you think is the majority, or are you comfortable with isolating and dealing with the problems yourself? Is it easier to be blissfully ignorant than it is to actually question authority and the way you are living your life? These are difficult questions to answer since you may be unable to think about them as it brings up this feeling of loneliness and anxiety. If that is the case, you could’ve fallen for a psychological tactic called mass formation.
Mass formation is a psychological tactic used by the news, politicians, world leaders, and the government to control the masses. Fear is always the mechanism used to initiate the hypnotic state to accept ideas. Mass formation starts by you having intense fear of whatever it is the government wants you to fear. This leads to you being in a suggestible state as you feel disconnected from others and like your life doesn’t have meaning. This leads you to feeling anxious, frustrated, and angry. Consciously you may not know why you feel this way, thus it’s hard for you to release it. Deep down these feelings stem from what the news and politicians told you to be afraid of, but you are not consciously connecting the dots.
However, you continue to watch and listen to the news and government, the same people who implanted fear within you, and they now have a solution to the very problem they created. You adopt this way of thinking and feel like you belong since the masses also adopt it and even recite the exact words the news and government told them. You now have an outlet for your pent up emotions and feel like you finally belong and have purpose. You comply with whatever you’re told, no matter how bizarre and absurd the orders get, since you want to feel like you belong. This is basic human nature after all, but the method that got you there is extremely dangerous and destructive.
You may think you are with the masses, that the vast majority of people think the same way you do. However, this way of thinking is actually the minority way of thinking, amplified to look like it’s the majority. It may even seem like a cult, like a small fringe minority that has a perceived powerful voice. But like any cult, it doesn’t think for itself, but rather is given orders by others and complies without question. False information can be given to them day after day, even contradicting what was previously said, and the mass believes it, without question, and no matter how absurd it gets. And it even progresses to the point of intense hatred towards those who do not comply, and physical and verbal abuse may ensue. The noncompliant person is seen as a threat because they represent the isolation, fear, and anxiety that the person who is under mass formation felt prior to the indoctrination.
If you are in this state, you have to be willing to open yourself up and diversify the media you are consuming. The tough decision is watching and listening to something that completely goes against the narrative you’ve been told and have been living for who knows how long. This will be a difficult task and you will have cognitive dissonance during this process, but remember the reason you are doing it.
You must also recognize propaganda when you see it and don’t blindly believe without questioning. You will see propaganda everywhere, as well as certain colors and banners on various websites, promoted by various companies. Every time you see these things, little by little, you begin to accept the idea, no matter how much you opposed it initially. Some examples in modern times of phrases that are rooted in the mass formation concept include:
- “Stay Home, Save Lives,” and “We’re All in This Together,” during the COVID pandemic
- “Black Lives Matter” during the George Floyd protests and riots
- “Stand With Ukraine” during the war against Russia
- “My Body, My Choice” during the overturning of Roe v. Wade
Find something that truly makes you want to wake up each day. What are your ideal goals and inspirations in life? Think about them instead of all the fear and anxiety that has been instilled within you, and go pursue your dream, no matter how difficult it is. There is no failure, only learning opportunities.
And lastly, stop complying. If something feels off to you, question it and stop complying. You have every right to be your authentic self, without giving in. It’s easier to give in then it is to fight for what you believe in, but imagine how good you’ll feel for standing up for what you believe in instead of complying with what someone else wants you to do.
The only person who has control over your life is you. No one else has control over you. So, you have to be the one to make the tough decisions, think critically, and get to the root of your emotions and why you feel the way you do. Is it a genuine feeling of fear, anger, and frustration, or has that been implanted in you by what you are watching and the people you are around? Cut out the noise of the others and listen to yourself.
Let me know how this works for you. Have a great day!
Additional Info
This was a concept I first heard about from Dr. Robert Malone on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Not that I watched it, but it went viral and even Google blocked searches to the term “mass formation psychosis.” The concept was later heavily explained by Mattias Desmet in this book, “The Psychology of Totalitarianism.” He went on a show I watch regularly, The HighWire with Del Bigtree and talked with him twice about the concept (part 1 | part 2). This is a concept that heavily intrigues me since it’s about psychology and how gullible and suggestible we can be during times of loneliness and despair. I could see right through everything that was going on, yet I was called the crazy one. But, I now realize that I’m not. It’s crazier to go along with the perceived masses and comply without question.
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