Toxic Culture in Social Media: The Result of Class Struggles

As said in the previous chapter, new technology is a tool used today changes the society

and can therefore affect the culture we live in today. To contrast this view, authors in this section

will discuss and see toxic culture in social media as a result of the conflict of the different classes

of the society.

Christian Fuchs, the author of the book The Critical Theory of Communication stated that

Herbert Marcuse’s view about the class struggles is evident in the culture that people show when

communicating in social media. The idea of social media is an evidence of class-based society. It

conceals its own ability and ideologically puts introduces the actuality of the utilization of digital

labor as truth, play, fun, democracy, wealth, revolution, rebellion, and participation. Social media

is a notion, nevertheless, points towards its own unrealized significance – a certainly social and

associated society which can never be achieved under capitalist rule and in a class-based society.

The capitalist reality of social media opposes its own essence.1

Fuchs stated that Marcuse pre-dated social media in his critical theory that can supply an

epistemology method and political impulse for understanding and changing capitalist social

media’s oppositions, class structures and ideologies. Thus, people pretend who they are on social

media so that society will think that they’re from the upper class portion of the society, with

which empowers them and give them happiness despite its absurdity. Furthermore, the class

1
Christian Fuchs, Critical Theory of Communication: New Readings of Lukács, Adorno, Marcuse, Honneth
and Habermas in the Age of the Internet (London, UK: University of Westminster Press, 2016), 145-148.
struggle manifestation on social media made social media lose its essence, as people

miscommunicate rather than communicate in a pleasant manner. 2

In relation to class structures being a big problem in the cyber world, Coloma, Ph.D.,

Llenas, M.A., Meer, Ph.D., and Villamil, M.B.A., discussed class structures in the Philippines

and how it greatly manifests the inequality in our country. Though Filipinos believe that they live

in a classless society, it is very evident that this country has a huge gap between the upper,

middle, and lower classes. Filipinos value to be rich and to be in the upper class, for they believe

they have more power over people than those who live in the middle class or lower class

lifestyle.3 Filipinos do a lot of status shifting especially in social media where they change their

true identity of being in the middle or lower class in order to feel empowered and happy. As

Philippines becomes the social media capital of the world, this case becomes clear in the media

platform as for Filipinos act on the platform in a toxic or unhealthy manner, causing chaos of

culture and of the Filipino Society.4

Toxic Culture: The Fruit of the Negatives

In this section, we will discuss toxic culture as a result of negative traits or characteristics

of people. The broken part of a person- one’s ill of nature results them to reflect a negative,

harmful culture of them as well. The authors will expand this topic and will further strengthen

the view.

2
Ibid.
3
Teresita M. Coloma, et. al., Essentials of Sociology and Anthropology: An Interactive Study (Quezon
City, Philippines: C & E Publishing, 2012), 126-128.
4
Ibid.
 Critical Theorist Theodor W. Adorno emphasized this thought of culture in his book,

Minima Moralia: Reflections of a Damaged Life. With such a negative outlook of culture in the

society, Adorno put out several thoughts regarding the negative aspects of human life. First

point, Adorno interpreted that bad lies is the real problem of the society, but not of those of the

moral position, or honest lies. Lies have become a normal thing in our society that it becomes a

universal scorn. If put in a modern world perspective, this case is evident especially in the

Filipino toxic cyber culture where irresponsible journalists, bloggers, and even common netizens

make fake news and fake statuses about themselves, or even for other people that this foolish act

becomes a normal act of lying.5 Second point, Adorno pointed out that our affixed goal is to not

be affixed, hence us humans has a determined goal to stay in sickness, or to live a crippling life. 6

This antagonistic intention of people leads to the development of an unpleasant culture wherein it

harms not only themselves, but also other people. The thought that us humans aim to not be

changed especially with our own negative characteristics causes the whole society to have this

illness as well.

Dr. Mina M. Ramirez wrote in her book Understanding Philippine Social Realities

Through the Filipino Family that a culture of insecurity emerged due to non-fulfillment of

several dimensions of needs. With lack of economic-psychological, sociological-ecological,

socio-psychological, and spiritual-metaphysical needs of people, insecurity, a negative trait, is

formed within and creates a possible negative culture and conflicts within people.7

5
Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia: Reflections of a Damaged Life (London, UK: Verso, 2005), 30.
6
Ibid., 71-73.
7
Mina M. Ramirez, Understanding Philippine Social Realities Through the Filipino Family (Manila,
Philippines: Asian Social Institute, 1984), 59.