I have been following the Foodpharmer for quite a while now. In fact, ever since he started his campaign against Bournvita in 2023. He does sound a bit sensationalist at times, but he does take up very important topics. Stuff that we don’t think about but affect our health in ways we understand, but do not heed to.
He has found a niche in the crowded video influencer segment, which is 90% fluff anyway.
So Revant (yes, that’s his name) started an interview series on You Tube a short time ago, and again managed to find a niche. While the others speak to the decision makers and voices that matter, Revant found his way to the bottom of the pyramid where there are voices, but they are seldom heard and surely do not matter, at last for now, and at least to those who both make decisions and consumers in general.
His first episode featured auto drivers. And in his latest episode, he spoke with delivery boys, or riders as they are commonly called. It was an eye opener for me – the kind of pittance that they are paid, the struggles they go through, and the constant pressure they face due to the rating system.
The last part especially drew parallels to a book that I had just finished (Nexus, by Yuval Noah Harari) where he speaks of the latest social credit system in China and the kind of dangers that society in general faces from technologies determining the future of companies and individuals due to largely opaque rating systems.
“In the past, stepping into a taxi or barbershop meant stepping into someone’s private space. Now, when customers come into your taxi or barbershop, they bring cameras, microphones, a surveillance network, and thousands of potential viewers with them.”
“For scoring those things that money can’t buy, there was an alternative non-monetary system, which has been given different names: honor, status, reputation. What social credit systems seek is a standardized valuation of the reputation market. Social credit is a new points system that ascribes precise values even to smiles and family visits.”
“The idea of social credit is to expand this surveillance method from restaurants and hotels to everything. In the most extreme type of social credit systems, every person gets an overall reputation score that takes into account whatever they do and determines everything they can do.
For example, you might earn 10 points for picking up trash from the street, get another 20 points for helping an old lady cross the road, and lose 15 points for playing the drums and disturbing the neighbors. If you get a high enough score, it might give you priority when buying train tickets or a leg up when applying to university. If you get a low score, potential employers may refuse to give you a job, and potential dates may refuse your advances. Insurance companies may demand higher premiums, and judges may inflict harsher sentences.”
Read the book:)
And yes, spare some time to see this interview.
And then, in your own small way, try to be part of the change:)