02/01/2025
Digital (Virtual) Emotional Politics, Affect and the Culture of Sentimentality: Understanding Sri Lanka’s Struggle with Objectivity
Do people desire emotional politics, or are they waiting for radical change?
Why do the Sri Lankan President and the people tell lies for ages? Is it our native national people’s cultural power? Is it fraudulent soft power, deceptive astroturfing public relations, plank, or flank diplomacy?
Why are we not realistic?
Why are we so emotional in our daily lives—or in our political, cultural, and economic spheres?
In our daily lives, we encounter numerous situations that evoke strong emotions, from critical decision-making to reacting to social media posts, navigating professional challenges, and addressing state-level issues. This phenomenon is particularly evident in the Global South, including Sri Lanka, where emotional responses often dominate many aspects of life. Why are we so emotional in our daily interactions? Is it due to our sensory engagement with external stimuli? Or does it reflect a deeper cultural and societal construct that governs our emotional involvement in everything from family matters to institutional and state governance?
Sri Lankans are deeply emotional because societal, cultural, and state decisions are not grounded in empirical, objective reasoning. Instead, they are heavily influenced by emotional politics—a practice that has persisted for generations. This paper explores why Sri Lankans rely so heavily on emotion, even when objectivity, logic, and evidence-based decision-making are crucial.
While emotional politics is a global phenomenon, its prevalence is closely tied to the rise of social media, which amplifies emotional appeal. The early decades of American journalism, marked by yellow journalism, bear a resemblance to the emotional politics seen in communication psychology. Today, however, social networking platforms fuel the politics of mind and matter through the business of affect, reshaping how people navigate both virtual and physical spaces. This paper does not focus on modern, social media-driven emotional politics. Instead, it examines how the communication psychology of sentimentality infiltrates real-world interactions and decisions, often hindering tangible and meaningful change.
Our reliance on emotional gratification—rooted in sentimentality, sensuality, and transient emotional appeals—frequently overshadows the material and interconnected approaches necessary for substantial societal transformation. This focus on emotion, rather than actionable strategies, creates a disconnect. Despite grand promises and hyperbolic rhetoric from leaders, including the president, Sri Lanka has failed to achieve the radical, realistic changes that its underdeveloped society and culture desperately need.
We continue to discuss transformative change while remaining trapped in a cycle of superficial, sentiment-driven politics, lacking the depth and practicality required for real progress. Leaders' inability to ground themselves in radical change stems from their lack of confidence and understanding of the practical, pragmatic implementation of their proposed models. They glamorize themselves in their minds and project this image to the public, often boasting rather than genuinely working toward meaningful change.
In Sri Lankan media, emotional bias is pervasive. Content is frequently saturated with sentimentality—whether in tragic love songs, dramatic narratives of loss and conflict, or exaggerated political rhetoric. This emotional slant shapes media spectatorship within the realm of media psychology. Media communication often prioritizes emotional appeal over objective analysis, with public figures frequently resorting to flamboyant displays in front of cameras. Such performances rarely involve systematic, evidence-based discussions that could offer deeper insights into issues or conflicts.
This emotional engagement—whether in personal relationships, professional settings, or political realms—results in a pattern of consistent failure. While individuals may achieve short-term gains through manipulation or emotional persuasion, these successes rarely translate into sustainable, material progress.
In politics, for instance, recent revolutionary changes in Sri Lanka brought hope for a departure from decades of corrupt, elitist governance. Yet, once in power, many leaders fail to implement realistic, ground-level programs. Campaigns that relied on emotional appeals via platforms like Facebook and TikTok often fail to translate into the tangible actions required to address everyday challenges. This disconnect between emotional rhetoric and practical governance undermines meaningful progress.
Similarly, in professional and institutional settings, decisions are frequently influenced by personal, emotional considerations rather than objective, scientific evaluations. This sentimentality hampers effective problem-solving in areas such as economic management, governance, and interpersonal relationships. It highlights the urgent need for Sri Lanka to adopt a more objective, independent, and systematic approach to decision-making.
In conclusion, our over-reliance on emotional engagement across all spheres—politics, culture, economics, and personal lives—has led to persistent issues and underachievement. As a nation, we must embrace a more scientific, evidence-based approach to identify and address the root causes of our challenges. Only then can we transform our society and achieve meaningful progress on both individual and collective levels.
“Do not tell lies—because sooner or later, lies break down into falsity and unreality, leading spectators to mistrust you. Lies have only a limited period of guaranteed relevance and influence, whether in personal relationships, such as s*x and romance, or in the broader context of local and global political landscapes. Ultimately, honesty is essential to building genuine connections with citizens and the public sphere. When your image and reputation are shattered before the public, how can others place their trust and confidence in you and your words?”
No country achieves economic and cultural development through the politics of mere emotional appeal—the relentless struggle for power mirrored in how media communication operates today. Social media’s virtual presentations thrive on emotional politics and affect theory, emphasizing sensation over substance. Politics, fundamentally, is about the struggle for power, but the real challenge lies in governing a country without eroding the trust and confidence of its people. A revolutionary government, along with its political ideology, requires a genuine grassroots approach and authentic communication. This entails moving away from flamboyant, hyperbolic, and exaggerated rhetoric, instead embracing the ethos of honesty and decency. Effective governance demands transparent and sincere communication that resonates with the audience’s psychology, fostering trust and stability.
To escape ingrained emotional politics, there must be a mindful awakening and a commitment to radical change to prevent systemic deterioration.
Politics is ultimately about attaining power by any means necessary. However, the people must engage in thorough scrutiny and critical examination of what transpires within the political spectrum. It is time to move beyond romanticizing or blindly embracing any political ideology—whether it is the liberal capitalist economy or Marxist socialist humanism.
Image from; https://undisciplinedenvironments.org/2016/06/08/emotional-political-ecology-some-thoughts/
Brahmavihara; loving-kindness or benevolence (maitrī/mettā), compassion (karuṇā), empathetic jo
