We are closer to than from a radically transparent society as Americans. Young people are more interested in financial independence and freedom from the illusions of the Hollywood Celebrity.

The transparency meter will continue to move in its direction, as long as newer generations can locate its value.

When the public slandering of a celebrity is a golden ticket to gain more Instagram follows, we must question the motives behind our transparency. 

Is bullying a bully correct? Ask a child, and they will tell you no. 

If behavior change is the goal, we can gain insight from studying child psychology. When a child is acting up in a restaurant, the parents don’t start spanking the kid right then and there for everyone to see. Instead the parent gets down to be eye level with the kid and says “Hey Timmy, be a good boy or you’ll get a spanking at home.”

What Being Shamed Does to Us

When it comes behavior change, we know that shaming someone tends to do the exact opposite of encouraging change. It shuts it them down.

“When we do something bad and feel shame or are shamed by our environment we think “I am bad.” Unfortunately that thought is often followed by thoughts like “I’m bad so why try to change”, or “I’m bad and therefore I can’t change” or “I’m bad and need to hide.” Shame causes people to withdraw, go inward, and feel hopeless. A person full of shame is expecting to be punished, rejected or humiliated for their behavior and that is a hard place to come from when it comes to asking for help.”

The problem with shame is that it is a fear-based motivator and it makes the person bad rather than differentiating the behavior from the person. 

While yes, the transparency meter is moving to the right, cost per click is also on the rise; resulting in call-out culture and clickbait headlines that feed off the transparency frenzy. 

“The problem is that our attention to social cues and signals, to status, to our social beliefs, can also lead us to embrace mob psychology, groupthink, and destructive behaviors. We have to learn to be able to think above society, while still being part of it.”

Be careful. The course of history has shown us, those who choose to judge, will, in turn, be judged using the same measuring stick.