Post memes ridiculing those who They refuse to get vaccinated for COVID-19 It is something that has become fashionable, as have memes ridiculing those who are in favor of the vaccine.
However, neither the real objective of these memes is to change the opinions of others, nor are they very effective (rather they produce the opposite effect). In a nutshell, Posting memes on social media unlikely to change minds about vaccination.
Why do we post memes?
Two decades of research show that we post memes or any other content on social media for three fundamental reasons:
- To show an idealized image from ourselves. That is to say, to sell ourselves in society.
- To show and support our memberships in groups, whether it be our family, a political party, or our love for a sports team (also whether we are pro-science or anti-science).
- Draw attention and receive feedback. It is a way to get attention and likes from like-minded people within the social media circle.
Influence others and change their opinions It is the fourth reason to post content on social media, but it is usually the least important for our purposes. Furthermore, this fourth reason may only be effective on the subset of people who are influential on social media, either because they are very popular and have a large following on social media or because they are experts in a particular field.
For most social media users the three main motivations are much more relevant. Posting a pro-vaccine meme is a way to publicly express support for vaccination and all related political and social positions associated with said support.
Furthermore, as already suggested by scientific literature about itIn general, attempts to persuade someone with a point of view opposite to our own harden and polarize the target's existing attitudes. Let's not say if these attempts are covered in the sarcasm of a meme.
In regarding vaccinesIn addition, we are in an urgent scenario where there is an excess of contradictory information. We could try to do pedagogy, try to inform people, even try to persuade them with the best possible rhetoric. However, if this doesn't work and we are in a hurry, it would be like trying to debate with the airline passenger about how to proceed in the face of an oncoming storm.
Finally, we must place our trust, to a greater or lesser extent, in the pilot's decisions (which can be publicly audited); and to achieve this without stumbling into totalitarianism, perhaps a more useful strategy would be the so-called libertarian paternalism:
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The news
Posting memes mocking COVID-19 anti-vaccines has the opposite effect to that intended (which in reality we do not intend)
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.