Cults are scary and dangerous. Cult leaders project themselves like messiahs but are dictators in reality. There’s also a significant amount of brainwashing involved to prevent cult members from thinking rationally. In today’s modern world, you wouldn’t think that cults exist. But turns out there are a lot of groups and forums that resemble the workings of a cult for the way its followers behave. Here are 4 modern-day cults that people blindly follow:
1. Amway:
Anway is a nutrition brand that’s weirdly overpriced and comes in massive packaging. They have a number of products like the Amway protein powder that a lot of their “sales and marketing executives” nudge people to buy. Amway MLM is an American company that got banned in its home country for illegal money circulation schemes. But the company’s aggressive selling strategy for Amway products is still running in countries like India. People are brainwashed at supposed “seminars for multi-million business opportunities”. They still publish press releases about their new product launches and nutrition supplements to sell to unwary customers.
2. MLMs (Multi-Level Marketing):
Basically, anyone claiming to be an “agent” for a brand or company forcing you to buy products or memberships or trying to trick you into becoming a member just like them is part of a multi-level marketing scheme. While most MLM companies are scams like QNET, some sell genuine products. But the fact that the companies behind them are relying on an aggressive and frankly disgusting strategy like MLM is reason enough why you shouldn’t buy from them.
3. Coaching Centres:
Coaching centers that offer admission to kids and their parents at the brink of important university exams are legit cults. The coaching institute entices parents with wildly unattainable goals. Most coaching centers are often led by one person who makes all the rules. Also, students are pressurized and tortured into scoring high numbers. The coaching centers leech the blood and hard-earned money of their parents by guilting them and scaring them into believing that their kids have basically no worth if they don’t get into a top university or do their studies abroad. Coaching centers also promote toxic cut-throat competition to stay ahead of their competitors. They often go as far as leaking exam papers to ensure their students get the highest scores and are featured on billboards.
4. Apple iPhone:
We said it! Buying Apple products, especially iPhones is like a cult. The latest iPhones too expensive. And Apple users can’t help but keep buying the latest model even though there’s nothing new Apple has to offer. Oftentimes, the same older version of the iPhone is re-released with a bigger price tag with identical features under the garb of a brand-new version.
What’s exasperating is that a lot of people buy iPhones through EMI despite them being way over-budget. Also, just a screen replacement on an iPhone requires you to visit an “Apple certified” service center that charges half the price of a new one just to replace the phone screen. The accessories, storage space, and innumerable additional charges that people blindly pay for are proof that Apple and iPhones are a cult. Also, Apple did pay a hefty fine for the fact that they deliberately slow down or corrupted old models to force people into exchanging them for the newer versions. Just saying!