One of the factors in our society that has been blamed for our increased polarization is social media. It amplifies our differences and makes them more painful. Plus, the algorithms underneath boosts the posts that are most likely to cause bad feelings, because that increases both clicks and amount of time spent on the platform. This is Jonathan Haidt’ latest hobby horse, and I agree with him. Here’s a
I recently stood my ground in a very large closed FB group & carefully & kindly stated my position & request. Someone shared their experience of what felt like racism to the her. Most people made excuses for the person who words sounded like racism. Not to repeat my comment, my main reason for speaking up was to affirm how the poster felt. And to invite this group of women to speak up for our sisters. No one took me on. A couple of women, noted they agreed. Although I came late to the conversation so I’m not sure many even saw it. You are so right, it takes those steps to crafting a response. Most of the times, I let it go.
Falling prey to the temptations of social media
I recently stood my ground in a very large closed FB group & carefully & kindly stated my position & request. Someone shared their experience of what felt like racism to the her. Most people made excuses for the person who words sounded like racism. Not to repeat my comment, my main reason for speaking up was to affirm how the poster felt. And to invite this group of women to speak up for our sisters. No one took me on. A couple of women, noted they agreed. Although I came late to the conversation so I’m not sure many even saw it. You are so right, it takes those steps to crafting a response. Most of the times, I let it go.
I’ve done exactly that, too, more than once. Great article.