Summary
Highlights
Nearly half of Americans anticipate a civil war, and political violence is increasingly justified globally. Social media is often blamed for this division, making us extreme and less empathetic. However, new research suggests this interpretation might be wrong, arguing that the social media internet undermines our brains in an unexpected way.
The idea of online filter bubbles, where algorithms only show you content that aligns with your views, is widely accepted. This theory suggests it leads to radicalization by narrowing perspectives. However, studies show minimal evidence for ideological isolation online. Instead, the internet often confronts individuals with dissenting opinions. The true filter bubble, it's argued, exists more in real-life interactions with family, friends, and colleagues, where ideological diversity is often less than online.
Our brains evolved not to understand objective reality, but to navigate and maintain social structures within small, cooperative tribes. Social isolation was a life-threatening scenario, leading our brains to prioritize group alignment. Historically, local communities fostered familiarity and bridged minor differences despite disagreements. As societies grew, our brains adapted to more diverse groups, but communities remained relatively aligned. Conflict can be productive, but social glue is crucial. The advent of the social media internet 20 years ago presented a new challenge to our evolved brains.
Our brains are ill-equipped to handle the immense amount of disagreement found online. This leads to 'social sorting,' where people are categorized into teams based on worldviews. Unlike real-life disagreements cushioned by shared local experiences, online dissent lacks this social glue, making disagreements central to a person's identity. This makes us less likely to consider opposing views seriously and more likely to believe negative information about 'the other team.' Conversely, we hyper-align with those who share our views, uncritically accepting their opinions. Engagement-driven algorithms exacerbate this by amplifying anger and extreme opinions, leading to a distorted view where opposing teams appear inherently evil. This societal-level dissolution of social glue undermines democracy, especially in two-party systems like the US.
To combat these effects, it's crucial to be aware of how social media influences our brains. Self-examination can help us identify biases in how we believe or dismiss information. Just as humanity adapted from tribes to cities, we must adapt to the information age. Since evolution is slow, we need new models. The pre-social media internet, with its bulletin boards and forums, offered a potential model. These platforms lacked algorithms designed to keep users perpetually online and were fractured into many specialized communities. These 'villages' had their own rules and cultures, allowing users to find communities that suited them, much like real-life social groups. Moving back to smaller online communities could mitigate social sorting and reduce the overwhelming nature of the digital 'town square'.
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