A current trend in thought and action praises self-reference - or, should I say, self-learning entitlement. Achology, the new unconventional educational approach, is a practice that departs from traditional methods and seems to involve adapting and adopting learning processes.
While knowledge is an intellectual development based on the appreciation of wisdom, achology – a new word and concept - refers to self-learning and practice via social media applications. The trend is for someone to be an expert in posting and to give opinions on topics about which they know little or nothing: the specialist on Instagram, Facebook and other social platforms.
There are fundamental differences between knowledge and technique. Knowledge does not imply training or expertise in the dissemination of information. These opposites reflect on media practice, including the selection of editors. However, when intellect and technique are aligned, they result in higher levels of quality and creativity.
Using a critical approach, I look into mass media and culture, such as radio, cinema, television and social platforms. For decades, they have been playing an alienating role in contemporary society. According to German philosopher Theodor Adorno, alienation causes cultural homogenisation to meet media’s business market and capitalist purposes. In this context, we can observe the use of the media to justify genocide, conflicts, the dislocation of entire communities, the manipulation of election results, etc.
I wonder whether one of our greatest social communication contributions is based on agenda-setting, sugar-coating issues, and using carefully crafted images and scenarios to build narratives. Some people are masters in populism, while others are artfully skilled in disguising issues. Given the current state of global politics, economy and military activities, anything is possible. History repeats itself.
Misinformation, lies, disinformation and propaganda are not new phenomena, but they have become more common over the last decade. Thus, there is a need for philosophical and historical approaches to perspective formation and opinion expression. It is important to look into the world of politics, delve into critical thoughts and develop media and journalism practice with a pinch of understanding.
Every civilisation needs a mechanism for storing and transmitting knowledge. A glance back into thousands of years: Julius Caesar, the legendary Roman Emperor, was a skilled marketing professional to publicise his military achievements and inform the people of the expansion of the Empire through the first newspaper known in the world, the Acta Diurna, which was created in 59 BC. That is when the first professional journalists, known as Imperial Correspondents, appeared.
We can highlight the Code of Hammurabi, which was written in 1750 BC and contains many principles and self-promotion skills that are still relevant today. Thanks to the Greeks and Romans, journalism has been associated with historiography and millennial literature.
In modern civilisation, where we are now since the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century, individuals are empowered through education and technology. However, many people have access to technology yet lack access to education.
Our civilisation is marked by advancements in technology, science, industry and societal structures. Still, it is also defined by appalling events, such as the Holodomor, the famine that struck Ukraine from 1929 to 1933, which was a genocide perpetrated by the Soviet Union; the First World War; the Khmer Rouge regime that led to the deaths of approximately 2.5 million people due to starvation, forced labour and execution; and the Three Years Chinese Famine. Past events provide references to current affairs.
In the actual media practice, there is a clear disregard for tackling ‘sensitive’ issues and a deliberate lack of historical memory. There is an obvious endorsement of an intellectual vacuum, which is exacerbated by the triviality of social media and, now, achology, a learning process based on social platforms.
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