On how social media fractures us

[xiphias]

Why is it so hard to understand how people who are politically different from you are thinking?

Most of us get a lot of our news, and even more of the commentary on our news, through social media. And modern social media algorithmically decides what will make us feel best to see, and that is things which comfort us by reinforcing our mindset.

You and I are genuinely not seeing the news stories that would be letting us know why people on the other side feel the way they do, and they're not seeing the ones we do. We can't understand, because our social media are literally preventing us from seeing the information that we could use to understand why other people are coming to the same conclusions they are.

Comments

[julian]

Facebook does function that way.

Twitter functions that way if you let it; I'm not going to regularly read Breitbart, mind you, but I'm trying to find civil conversations with people not of my general poitical persuasion.

It is a small effort, but it is mine own.

[medievalbooks]

That is why I distrust most info that is shared. The news is all biased these days. Pretty sad when I have to Snopes most things. And friends share info they know to be incorrect just to get folk's reactions. I know people/family who believe in matters on either end of the political spectrum and no, they are not demons.

[snippy]

I guess I don't have this problem on purpose? I look at blogs I know are diametrically opposed to my views for as long as I can tolerate. I still read some politics Usenet groups to see what links people post and what they say about the information at those links.

I understand. I make an effort to.

Understanding doesn't mean agreement, or even thinking that they are ethical people supporting their values. They pretty much prove that they're not. Understanding actually makes me think less of them. I'm not sure this is prosocial.

There may be something to be said for the proposition that you can tolerate better what is not shoved in your face on a regular basis.