What is “hype”?
This is a foreign word, meaning agiotage, stormy discussion, mass discussion, scandal, intrusive advertising, emotional arousal, etc.
There is commercial, social and political hype.
A commercial hype is raised to arouse interest in some product, person or company. For example, a good hype was played in Kazakhstan a year ago as a war of billboards between the “Kcell” and “Tele2” companies. That hype worked in favor of both companies, increased recognition and added clients to them.
There are also negative hypes. For example, an unsuccessful advertisement with half-naked stewardesses, who covered their intimate places with piloting, damaged the reputation of the advertiser.
There are also forced, fictional hypes. For example, popular pop singers occasionally come up with stories about their divorces and reconciliation, about the gifted second wives to their husbands and revealed treachery. Such scandals help them to be heard and better sell themselves.
The social hype pursues the goal of attracting public attention to a particular problem. For example, a foreign journalist raised a scandal due to the inability to receive a service in the state language in a Kazakh bank. He could privately file a lawsuit against the infringement of his rights. However, it was important for him not only to protect his rights, but to provoke a public reaction and prevent such phenomena in the future in relation to any citizens of the country. And he achieved his goal. The guilty bank apologized publicly, and all other banks and large companies began to urgently restructure their client policies in such a way as to prevent such incidents from happening again.
Another example of a social hype is the story of the rape of a young girl by her employer at a construction site. The girl filed the offender in court, but did not achieve justice. Then she, with the help of a public organization, raised a scandal in social networks and the media. Under such close attention of the public to law enforcement bodies and courts it became more difficult to make obviously unreasonable decisions.
And another hype, raised by indifferent citizens, contributed to the president’s refusal of the obviously unsuccessful version of the Latin alphabet. If there was no that hype, we would all now learn to write with apostrophes.
As for the political hypes, their purpose is to form in the broad masses one or another opinion on political issues. The loudest example of a successfully conducted hype in Kazakhstan is a public movement against the sale of land to foreigners. Discussions in social networks eventually resulted in real crowded rallies and forced the leadership of the country to abandon this idea.
How to treat hypes?
With understanding.
We must understand that behind each hype there is someone’s interest. And this is normal. All people are driven by their personal interests. We do not need to fight with it, but need to use it.
For example, I agree that girls should not be raped, and rapists must be severely punished. Therefore, I support the social movement, which stood up for the raped girl. Someone will say that in this way the public association earns its popularity. And I say: well, let it be. In this way the movement does not harm my interests, but it helps me to fight evil. So, we are on the same way. So why do not we support each other.
Or in relation to a foreign journalist. Many accuse him of scandal and a desire to become famous. Excellent! Let him be popular. But if he gets his fame, revealing the actual problems of most of Kazakhstani society, then I support him.
Our whole life is continuing hypes. But hypes vary. If these are useful hypes, then it is necessary to support them, and with their help to achieve noble goals. If these are harmful hypes, then the best way to deal with it is to completely ignore it. You do not have to react to it, and it will eventually die. Because hype lives only by the help of the attention and reaction of the public.
COMMENTS