As we experience a political power shift and Presidential transition unlike one our country has even seen, the recent events surrounding the insurrection at the Capitol have made it crystal clear that we have reached a boiling point in our political divide.
Twitter, Facebook, and multiple other heavy hitter social media platforms have banned President Trump, while Apple and Google have removed Parler, the new platform that served as the breeding ground for those planning the protest. The former President’s primary channel of communication has been cut off, sparking fury from his base, while Congressmen who supported these events have lost sponsorships, partnerships, and book deals.
The United States of America has arguably not been this divided since the Civil War, which begs the question: How did this happen, and what can we do to heal it?
The Current Political Divide: How Did We Get Here?
Interestingly enough, the book in question, called The Tyranny of Big Tech, argues that companies like Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon, are the biggest current threat to our country. While I have not read this book and don’t know the lens through which Senator Hawley writes this perspective, I do know that social media has all of the ingredients to be the perfect recipe for polarization.
Social media uses data on what we “like,” click to read, or even pause our scroll on in order to push out similar information to us. The goal here is to keep users engaged and on the platform, but this often leads to us only getting information from one side of any given issue, from simple topics like video games and sports to those with heavier implications, like vaccines, politics, and the pandemic. For a deeper dive into the algorithms that lead people down this path, and sometimes radicalize them, listen to the podcast “Rabbit Hole” from The New York Times.
To add fuel to the divisive fire, a recent study shows that false news spreads six times faster than accurate and factual news stories, making it much more likely for the average person to see misinformation and disinformation rather than truth. Couple that with the fact that the pandemic has pushed all of us to spend more time online and isolated rather than out in the world having real in-person conversations with those having differing world views. Thus, you have everything you need for this perfect storm of polarization and political divide.
Are We Using Social Media, or is it Using Us?
Regardless of where the fault lies, it’s hard to argue with the stance that social media is contributing to one of the biggest existential threats we currently face both as a country, and as a globe. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) that serves as the backbone of these platforms feeds information to every user that is tailored to our preferences, dividing us into camps that create an echo chamber of sameness.
This echochamber is perfect for advertising, a phenomenon described in the film The Social Dilemma as “surveillance capitalism.” As these platforms learn more about us through our behavior on social media, they sell our information to advertisers as the perfect audience for their product or service. Many of us don’t even realize it’s happening, but The Social Dilemma helps explain it by saying, “If you aren’t paying for the product, you are the product.” We, the end user, are what is for sale.
Keeping the user inside the platform as often and for as long as possible is a deliberate marketing approach for these tech companies. The more time you spend on Facebook or Twitter:
The more they learn about you.
The more opportunities they have to sell to you.
Therein lies the ideology bubbles we create by being fed more of what we want, or rather, more of what the algorithm decides we want. Aside from the political divide and the polarization enhanced by social media use, studies show that the more social media we consume, the more stress and anxiety we feel. A study published in the journal Computers and Human Behaviour found that those who use seven or more social media platforms are more than three times as likely to have general anxiety symptoms than people using zero to two platforms. Additionally, a Swedish study found that women who spend more time on Facebook feel less happy and confident. Not only is that bad for our mental health and wellbeing, it makes our beliefs and opinions susceptible to whatever will make us feel more confident and empowered (and we turn to social media even more to find those things).
How do We Bridge the Divide?
This journey will be a long one, and no quick fix exists, but there are some things we can do to heal ourselves and this deep political divide.
Make an effort to find and consume every perspective of any given subject. Only getting one side of the story on any issue is what leads directly to polarization. For example, I went online the week the riot at the Capitol took place, and I had to deliberately visit two different and often opposing news feeds (MSN and FOX) to guard myself against this bias. Unfortunately, we don’t usually think to do this, and instead tend to scroll and consume whatever the algorithm feeds us.
Slow down the scroll. Limit the amount of time you are on social media for no reason other than to mindlessly browse.
Turn off your notifications. They are designed to pull you back into the platform. Make those little numbers and push notifications disappear so you can be in charge or when and where you log in.
Prioritize real conversations outside of social media. It’s hard to see people in-person right now, but a socially distant walk or a Zoom call with friends will help you maintain perspective and have healthy, candid discussion with those who aren’t pushed into your feed just because they agree with you.
We can get through this with hard work, empathy, and kindness — together. If you need help facilitating these conversations, please reach out.