Breaking the Chains of Tribalism: Promoting Independent and Critical Thinking
Tribalism is a deeply ingrained human tendency and is one that has seen a massive resurgence in the current digital age. Defined as the strong loyalty and identification with a particular group, tribe, or individual, tribalism shapes our behavior, attitudes, and affiliations. In this digital era, where our lives are increasingly intertwined with technology, tribalism manifests in new and complex ways. Social media has definitely been a key catalyst of this resurgence and it can be seen in almost all communities, especially in the Web3 space.
Understanding the concepts under the crypto umbrella such as blockchain technology, cryptocurrency trading and NFTs is a daunting task for most and acts as a barrier for mass adoption. While others take the time to understand the intricacies of the space, an understandable majority of the population would often seek information in the form of individuals or organizations. This is a natural response because as humans, we tend to look for guidance from the people who have experience in the field we are interested in. As human beings, we will often look for the methods that have the least amount of friction, the easiest methods so we can reward ourselves earlier. While completely natural, this has allowed tribalism to develop as a double edged blade.
The Power of Influence
The first example of this comes in the form of influencers, founders, “alpha callers” and what we call blue-chip projects. The general public often uses these people and organizations as metrics of success. Follow what they do, listen to what they say, copy their trades and you will have the same success as well. We’ve all been there and its a natural response. As the saying goes, history often repeats itself. More often than not, communities will look to one person or one organization to justify their thought process or bluntly speaking, do their thinking for them and this results in seeing arguments such as:
1. “Project Y (considered a blue chip) is involved with Project X, so it must be a good investment.”
2. “Influencer A is bullish on this coin, I think I will ape in.”
3. “Founder A aped into Project X so it must be a good buy.”
4. “Wow, people are buying into Project Y, I will try and catch the pump and join as well.”
These are examples of “Herd Mentality”, which Tribalism has built its roots upon as well. While it may present with positives, it can also lead into people putting themselves in unfavorable positions and trades as they essentially let an external figure influence their actions. While we cannot and we should not assume that all of those with influence have malicious intents, it is still best to take caution especially if it involves financial investments so we can avoid being put against the wall or at worse, a state of bankruptcy.
Directing the Influence
While there are indeed some benefits to the mindset behind Tribalism and Herd Mentality, if the negatives overrun our thought process, we can be put in unfavorable situations. Situations we could’ve avoided by thinking a bit more independently and in a more critical manner. As someone who has been on both ends of this double edged blade, here are concepts we can slowly learn to help us break from the echo chambers.
1. Cultivate Critical Thinking:
Ask Why: Whenever you encounter a situation that initiates a feeling of FOMO or any kind of emotion, ask yourself why it exists and who benefits from it. Understand if the risk to reward ratio fits your tolerance as well.
Diversify Your Information Sources: Seek out information from diverse sources and perspectives. Avoid echo chambers by consuming content from people with different viewpoints. Use the capabilities of the blockchain where everything is inscribed and, and follow the digital footprints left on social media as those are two of the most prominent sources of information in the space.
Evaluate Evidence: Challenge your own beliefs by critically examining the evidence that supports them. Be open to changing your views if new information emerges. Learn to question yourself and your actions. As a trader, this will be crucial in helping you understand events better.
Question Authority: Don’t blindly follow leaders or influencers. Ask critical questions about their qualifications, biases, and motivations. Look into the their history, the patterns of how they post, what they post, what they have been involved in the past. While this isn’t always a 100% guarantee, knowing more about the people who have power can guide your thought process and also protect it.
2. Practice Empathy and Active Listening:
Understand Others: We are operating in space that is diversified in every aspect. People from different professional backgrounds and socioeconomic status. Try to understand the perspectives and experiences of people from various areas and you will be able to find the reasoning for their actions and communicate accordingly.
Listen Actively: When engaging in discussions, focus on actively listening to others rather than waiting for your turn to speak. This can lead to more productive conversations. Learn the individual’s how and why, the reasoning behind their thought process. This way, you can allow yourself to formulate questions based on their reasons and not just their answers alone.
3. Seek Common Ground:
Bridge Building: Identify shared values or common goals with people from different groups. This can help create connections and foster a broader understanding of everyone’s mindset. People with the same goals can also have different motivations behind them and understanding this can help you appreciate the thought process of people who have opposing goals and views.
Compromise: Be willing to compromise on non-core issues. In a space driven by pride and bias, learning why it exists and why people act aggressive and protective over certain topics can help you position yourself in a conversation that can be mutually beneficial or at the very least, avoid the scenario where it becomes an argument.
4. Become a Thought Leader:
Educate and Inform: Share well-researched, unbiased information with your community. By becoming a source of reliable information, you can influence others positively. In a space where we often act with pride and with the notion of everyone is apparently just winning, we often forget that we are also still learning in the space. Education and information often ends up taking a backseat because of pride. Instead of just blindly bullposting or bearsposting, instead of blindly just using superficial ideas to support your decisions, take the time to elaborate and state your thought process. The conversations that can come from this will feed both parties involved in a much more educational manner. We can learn from everyone.
Lead by Example: Demonstrate critical thinking and open-mindedness in your actions and interactions. Others may follow your lead. If you have your facts right, if it aligns with your own ideals and if it is something you know is right, do not be afraid to voice it out. You may never know how many people resonate with your belief or will give time to state why they think otherwise.
5. Use Tribalism and Herd Mentality to Your Advantage:
Network and Collaborate: Leverage the power of communities for networking and collaboration. Engage with like-minded individuals to achieve common goals. More often than not, having a circle where you have people whose goals are aligned with yours can help in feeding your ideals in a positive manner and at the same time, even if they do they have different goals but the motivations are the same, it can help you understand a wide ranges for ideals better.
Identify Opportunities: Recognize emerging trends and opportunities within communities. Why do you think we have a Fear and Greed index? While we are not supposed to be emotional in this space, we can often use the behavioral patterns and actions of others to guide us in what we do. Acknowledge these events and ask why they are happening from a community perspective. Is their speculation? Did the community not like these certain action? What is the space looking for now? These are questions driven by tribalism and herd mentality that you can use to guide your decisions and augment them.
Final Take
Remember that tribalism and herd mentality are not inherently negative; they can foster a sense of belonging and solidarity. However, it’s essential to balance this with critical thinking and individual agency. In a space where there are multiple voices, each being louder than last, it is very easy to get lost and to question your ideals. The best way to go about it is to always question things and to see everything in a more critical manner. We are involved in a space with varying motivations, some malicious, some acting for the greater good so its in our best interest to develop our own thought process, our own ideals while at the same time understanding others. It’s not the most frictionless way to go about it but its certainly the way to break away from the echo chambers.