The Social Media Atheist

The Social Media Atheist

     

     In her book, Branding Religion, Mara Einstein draws important comparisons between marketing and religion, arguing that they share many essential qualities and function similarly. For example, Einstein says, "Consumers see religious products as means of expressing their faith while merchandisers see products - including religious practice itself - as means to spread the faith." Here she is arguing that religious products, like a Star of David for example, function in the same way with respect to spreading one's faith, Judaism, as a pair of Jordan sneakers do in spreading one's identification with the Jordan Brand. Similarly, in Generation Like, the documentary implicitly argued that social media also functions similarly to religion as users strive to gain the most 'likes', or popularity, and present themselves in the ways that they would like to be identified by others. However, while Einstein and Generation Like argue that both branding and social media function religiously, there is an important 'sect' of individuals and users that aren't quite covered by their arguments.

     Neither of the two pieces touch on the atheist category. In the case of Einstein, the atheist is someone who purchases products from companies that don't actively use their products as marketing tools, while for Generation Like the atheist is someone who doesn't constantly post in search of 'likes' or doesn't even participate in social media at all. Since the rise of social media and the omniscience of branding and marketing, those that have actively participated in these practices have become the face of the issue, leaving the atheists overlooked. While the over-consumption of branded products and social media is still a concern, there are still billions of people who don't have internet or buy consumer products. Are we really faced with an epidemic, or are we just allowing the news and media outlet convince us that we do by putting an emphasis on the people already infected?