Academic and psychological consultant Dr. Rasmia Al-Rababi affirmed that the transformations brought about by digital media have reshaped the way people interact with information. She noted that algorithms are now more concerned with generating engagement than seeking the truth, placing a significant responsibility on audiences to protect their awareness from emotional reactions and impulsive responses.
The remarks came during an international seminar organized by the Global Forum for Journalism and Media (GFJM), which addressed the challenges of information reception and the impact of the digital environment on the formation of collective consciousness.
The event was organized in cooperation with the Arab Union of Journalists, Media Professionals and Arab Intellectuals and the Kuwait Journalists Association, with the participation of Saudi journalist Jamal Bennoun. The International Union of Arab Press in Canada also participated in the organization, as part of joint efforts aimed at strengthening awareness and promoting critical-thinking tools.
Al-Rababi explained that the role of the media is no longer limited to reporting events and informing the public about what is happening, but has expanded to influence how people perceive those events. She pointed out that today’s media landscape has shifted from reflection to speed, from context to headlines, from argument to imagery, and from understanding to emotion.
She noted that audiences increasingly process content in an almost automatic manner: they read the news, react emotionally, and then share it before giving themselves the opportunity to verify it. She stressed that the main problem in today’s information environment is not a lack of information, but rather the weakening of cognitive resilience in the face of its constant flow, alongside the proliferation of voices and continuous noise.
Addressing the concept of collective consciousness, Al-Rababi rejected reducing it to a rigid mass or a group that is simply led, describing it instead as a shared space in which meanings are formed, fears and hopes interact, and public-opinion trends develop, either calmly or under the influence of conflicts and emotions.
She explained that collective consciousness in the past developed more slowly through institutions and social spaces such as the mosque, the majlis, newspapers, and radio. However, this pace has changed with the digital environment: collective consciousness has become faster, more fragmented, and more emotionally driven, while algorithms now play a direct role in shaping its trajectories.
Al-Rababi called on media professionals to resist being carried away by the speed of content. She also urged leaders to move beyond merely delivering messages and instead work to equip people with the tools of critical reading and analysis. She emphasized the importance of building a collective consciousness that participates rather than merely follows, and that is awakened rather than numbed.
During the seminar, she reviewed the major scientific milestones addressing the influence of groups on individuals, beginning with Gustave Le Bon’s book The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, published in 1895, and continuing with psychologist Solomon Asch’s experiments in 1951 on the influence of group pressure on individual judgments and decisions.
She also discussed the research of Sherry Turkle in psychology and digital culture, particularly her studies on the impact of constant connectivity on attention and identity. Al-Rababi explained that neural circuits once influenced by the pressures of the physical environment are now capable of responding and adapting to the digital environment.
As part of the search for ways to protect individual autonomy, Al-Rababi proposed four levels of individual presence. The first is “preemptive disruption,” aimed at protecting the personal decision-making center from dissolving into public opinion. The second is “methodical slowing down,” which involves creating a time gap that allows ideas to mature and gives them greater resistance to rapid consumption.
The third level, “accumulating impact,” involves directing energy toward creating a limited number of positions that are nevertheless profound in their influence. The fourth, “living positioning,” consists of maintaining one’s authentic identity and avoiding adopting social roles or masks that conflict with the individual’s nature and environment.
On the philosophical level, Al-Rababi addressed the concept of “alienation of being” within Martin Heidegger’s existential school of thought, warning against the dangers of a fragmented identity that distances people from their authentic essence and pushes them toward becoming repeated and consumed versions of themselves.
She cited the late Dr. Ghazi Al-Qusaibi as a practical example of the concept of “critical distance,” explaining that his conscious withdrawal from the turmoil of daily battles gave him greater space to focus on his intellectual and literary work, helping him leave a lasting strategic legacy beyond his death.
For his part, Dr. Zuhair Al-Abbad, Vice President of the Global Forum for Journalism and Media, affirmed that journalism is no longer confined to print media, but has become an integrated system encompassing digital, television, and radio journalism.
Al-Abbad revealed that the Kuwait Journalists Association, whose board of directors he chairs, has concluded 20 international agreements with Arab and foreign countries. He also noted that numerous specialized training programs have been organized in cooperation with human-rights organizations and international universities.
The seminar featured extensive discussions and interventions from participants. Manea Al-Yami, Mohammed Al-Bahrani, and Magdi Al-Sayed raised a number of questions concerning the concept of “deep-rooted certainty,” its relationship to intellectual stability, and the ability of individuals to confront alternatives.
Hossam Salem Al-Khawaldeh addressed the differences between personal and collective beliefs, while Dr. Ramez Darwish discussed ways of creating an impact on the human mind. Hatem Najib, meanwhile, raised the question of how to identify the right path amid what he described as the high density of informational turmoil and confusion.
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