vibe dynamics
12.2024
In 1985, Neil Postman argued that the shift from print to television changed discourse by abandoning logic and sequence. Today, algorithm-driven, user-generated media has only accelerated this trajectory – pushing public discourse further away from the linear and coherent and toward the fragmented & associative. Instead of asking, "Is this true?" we ask, "Does this resonate?" It's increasingly vibes, not facts or logic, that drive our collective decisions and discourse.
This framework explores how vibes emerge, evolve, and transform as a medium for messaging, highlighting both their risks and potential.
What’s a vibe? It’s counterintuitive to "define" a vibe, but in essence, a vibe is something between a mood, an idea, a style, and an atmosphere. It reflects a shared sentiment or cultural current, encapsulating what people feel but might not yet be able to articulate. More than passive signals and trends, vibes are dynamic, active forces that influence individuals and groups – acting as interactive, affective mediums in their own right.
Trajectory of a vibe
Vibes are fluid and resist rigid categorization. While they evolve through identifiable stages, this framework should be seen as a dynamic flow rather than a linear process, with stages often blending into one another.
Vibes naturally spread through subcultures, memes, & shared experiences, but algorithmic amplification introduces new forces—favoring virality, emotional provocation, and engagement. This accelerates our dependence on vibes while simultaneously exposing them to greater risks of misuse and distortion.
Since vibes aren’t static and tend to lack one specific message or structure, they risk getting:
But because of their adaptive, decentralized nature, vibes *could* continue to intentionally evolve in a rare third direction to be:
A vibe that engages only one or two of these elements is more easily manipulated—stripped of substance or redirected toward harmful ends. A purely aesthetic vibe risks being commodified, while one rooted solely in emotion can be distorted to serve reactionary agendas. A sustained vibe must balance and reinforce all three elements to channel its energy towards resistance and avoid becoming hollow or divisive.
This framework explores how vibes emerge, evolve, and transform as a medium for messaging, highlighting both their risks and potential.
What’s a vibe? It’s counterintuitive to "define" a vibe, but in essence, a vibe is something between a mood, an idea, a style, and an atmosphere. It reflects a shared sentiment or cultural current, encapsulating what people feel but might not yet be able to articulate. More than passive signals and trends, vibes are dynamic, active forces that influence individuals and groups – acting as interactive, affective mediums in their own right.
Trajectory of a vibe
Vibes are fluid and resist rigid categorization. While they evolve through identifiable stages, this framework should be seen as a dynamic flow rather than a linear process, with stages often blending into one another.
Emergence:
A vibe begins as raw cultural energy—organic, unstructured, and fueled by collective feelings or reactions to events and cultural shifts. This stage is marked by a swirling of shared experiences, artifacts, memes, and emotional fragments, coalescing into a recognizable yet intangible force.Amplification:
In this stage, vibes experience a flow—an accelerated momentum—fueled by user interactions and algorithms.Vibes naturally spread through subcultures, memes, & shared experiences, but algorithmic amplification introduces new forces—favoring virality, emotional provocation, and engagement. This accelerates our dependence on vibes while simultaneously exposing them to greater risks of misuse and distortion.
Since vibes aren’t static and tend to lack one specific message or structure, they risk getting:
Hijacked:
An actor harnesses the cultural energy / collective sentiments but redirects it toward something else – usually a fascistic agenda.(Ex) Far-right groups take legitimate grievances with economic inequality and feelings of uncertainty then embed it with rhetoric & symbols to redirect the energy towards blaming "outsiders" or "enemies."
Co-opted:
An actor (brand, politician, institution) takes the existing cultural energy, strips it of meaning and power, commodifies it to sell something or dilutes its power.(Ex) Liberal institutions & brands co-opt queerness with identity-politics appeals & rainbow capitalism – weakening its radical potential and emptying its substance.
But because of their adaptive, decentralized nature, vibes *could* continue to intentionally evolve in a rare third direction to be:
Sustained:
To sustain a vibe means keeping it alive and evolving, steering it past the usual traps. Instead of letting it get watered down by commodification or hijacked for harmful agendas, the vibe “becomes ungovernable”—an organic, shared way of spreading culture and ideas. It transcends platforms to become a mode of cultural transmission, more flexible and dispersed than traditional forms of media.Can vibes be sustained or even channelled strategically for resistance? Maybe… maybe not…
Vibes aren’t meant to be permanent – some ought to fade! But if we consider vibes as an adaptive medium, vibes could be harnessed strategically for resistance or to preserve cultural authenticity. Mobilizing a vibe requires intentional effort to craft something that resonates intuitively while embedding it with depth and complexity. This means bridging emotion with logic and packaging it in accessible ways—through visuals, internet language, or any aesthetics that facilitate its spread.