Polarisation for profit

07 Dec Polarisation for profit

Online echo chambers with back-slapping hashtags have replaced critical thinking, respectful dialogue, and empathy, creating groups of intransigent narcissists. As we all reach out to connect over social media platforms, algorithms and data for profit are dividing communities more than ever before.

Back in the good old days, before we all had to develop online profiles, belonging to a tribe meant seeking out those with similar beliefs or interests, usually represented by social class, religion, musical preferences, political opinions or fashion choices. Mostly we kept to our herd, only banging heads at family gatherings, evenings in the pub or in passing conversation. So how has social media affected communication, and why are we becoming dangerously polarised?

The nature and structure of social media promote a new style of discourse; getting your point across means using short paragraphs, buzz words or hyperbolic emotive language. Keeping us engaged is prioritised for profit; therefore, the gatekeepers have been removed and filtering out what doesn’t interest is essential to their business model. Social media companies understand nothing will create more online traffic than pushing our buttons. Then there is the hashtag, twenty-first-century badges of belonging, a way of saying this is what I stand for in one or two words #AFAIK (as far as I know). If making your point with acronyms is too academic, then there is always the emoji, one facial expression or a dollop of faeces, and your point is made. Behaviour, arguments, exposition, and our relationship to the social world have become exposed across social networks in ways that we would not react to in a face-to-face confrontation; in short, on social media, rage is rewarded, and misery is monetised.

Who hasn’t felt the rush of becoming the keyboard warrior, typing your point and sporadically checking for the rewards of likes and shares? Receiving confirmation and validation means your beliefs must be correct. Harmless; sometimes, however, what happens when ideas have been manipulated by disinformation, disagreeing with your tribe may become isolating, even unthinkable. If you’ve managed to pull yourself away from the debate and out of the rabbit hole, social media will send you endless notifications, constantly bleeping until it draws you back in.

So where is all this leading us? When online communities of thousands or millions start sharing disinformation, the validation of the group can have the potential to destabilise governments, misinform populations and spread hate. Astroturfing, no, this no longer refers to your lawn; instead, astroturfing online refers to using fake grassroots movements to influence public opinion. Online intolerance has received a significant upgrade, and cases where discussion forums have led to online hate translating into actual life harm, are increasing. For example, Dylann Roof was described as self-radicalised over the internet before he murdered nine people at a black church in South Carolina in March 2015. The now infamous platform 8chan allowed the sharing and promotion of hateful themes and images and the celebration of racially motivated attacks. The problem is that these online communities are challenging to monitor; when they are kicked off mainstream platforms, they reincarnate on other sites, less well-known and more unregulated.

While governments try to protect us with legislation, the right to offend and be offended means complete protection is impossible. Therefore, it must fall to education, teaching the value of critical thinking, respectful dialogue and empathy—encouraging forums where we are invited to listen to the other side. Finally, we must start to inform our young people that even if their friend or a celebrity posted it online, it might not be true, that if you see something online, it could not be true and to stop sharing and liking stuff if you don’t know it’s true. If our governments and educators fail to promote digitally literate communicators, we will raise a digitally illiterate generation.

https://thelightbulblearners.com/