Is tribalism winning?
Sometimes it seems like today’s society is one big echo chamber.
There are fewer fact-based opinions left to be found on anything much, political or otherwise.
Everyone seems afraid to voice their opinion,
for fear of being attacked
With both left and right-wing culture trending towards extreme viewpoints.
There’s no room for balanced, or refined viewpoints in the centre,
Only simple narratives with a clear story,
Hero and villain.
I’ve been trying to dive into why….
The online echo chamber
There’s no room for balanced, or refined viewpoints in the centre,
Only simple narratives with a clear story,
Hero and villain.
Extreme personalities like Trump are just artefacts of culture and extreme tribalism fueled by social media creating a biased reality.
The endgame is opposing viewpoints on any matter.
We are in a world of red Vs blue, worse, us Vs them.
But the real world is complex with complex opinions.
The loss of the “middle”, of the ability to reason, question and debate is the slow demise of free speech, which leads to restriction of thought through societal pressure.
In short, people should stop jumping to opinions because they read a 5s clickbait article, and practice saying
“don’t know” or even “don’t care”
My policy is to try not have an opinion unless it’s something I know about.
There’s so much fake news and clickbait out there, it’s easy to form an opinion based on nothing but bias and speculation, then dig yourself in by believing in something you you only see one side of through the prism of a social feed.
For me “I don’t know / care” applies to about 95% of most info I see during the day.
I think it’s because negative news has anymore emotional impact than positive because humans are biased to fear loss more than enjoy gains.
So social algos push negative threads, negative politics etc.
I’m hoping the next generation are more guarded and adjust & learn to modulate online behaviour to counteract the algo.
Otherwise I guess democratic society is doomed to a weird kind of hypercharged tribalism
For me, hearing opposing viewpoints is not about protection,
exposing myself to other opinions is the only way to stay open and aware.
If we view opposing opinions only as an opportunity to defend our own viewpoints then we’re already approaching someone with a closed mind, and lumping them into a “us Vs them” scenario where everything is polarised.
In that scenario attacking instead of discussing is it’s own form of pushing people into silence.
The internet seems to breed this form of “shout each other down” one sided arguments, instead of people actually soaking up new viewpoints or perspectives,
Which may have been possible in a face to face conversation
But we’re not morally obligated to voice those opinions.
I often come under attack for saying I don’t watch the news
I was once labelled as “privileged”
To the right,
your branded “a sympathizer”.
and to left “you’re privileged”.
That’s an easier narrative than considering that maybe,
just maybe,
it’s complicated.
Free speech must be allowed, even the speech we disagree with.
If I came across a racist I would simultaneously argue with them about racism,
Whilst simultaneously supporting their right to voice their distasteful opinions
These two viewpoints are not contradictory.
The issue I have with social fundamentalism (and this happens in both left and right ) is attempts to prevent or shut down open discussion.
Not all discussion about racism is racism
Not all those who disagree on fine points around transgender issues are transphobic
These are complex issues across spectrums of opinion on ethics, morality, politics etc.
But increasingly, to even ask questions around a “hot topic” is is taken as a sign of disagreement, and perceived as a declaration that you are vehemently against that viewpoint,
even if your overall stance is actually in agreement.
It’s the death of free speech.
The death of free speech on the internet
“the rise of the right is the fault of the left” – Stephen Fry
You can watch the full video here
It very much feels like there’s a lot of topics where your just not allowed to have an opinion.
It’s never outwardly stated but there is an orthodox view which must not be challenged in any way.
Not just disagreement, but even discussion will bring a hellfire down on your head.
Do you feel safe to discuss things openly online?
I see a terrifying trend of speech control,
Masquerading as liberalism.
“Safe” means prevention of physical harm
Becomes
“Safe” means I don’t want to hear opinions that offend me
“Aggression” acting violent or threateningly
Becomes
“Aggression” things that offend me
“Privileged” has more than a fair share of advantages
Becomes
“Privileged” doesn’t support views I support
The only route to true liberalism or free speech is to
- stop having an opinion on everything
- listen to people, especially the ones we disagree with
- listen twice as much as we speak
Where does this leave us?
If we can’t discuss the nuances, without being attacked,
Then how can we define what is a reasonable viewpoint, and what is an extreme viewpoint?
Very quickly the more balanced viewpoints stop being heard entirely, because it’s just not worth it to argue with lower rung or extreme opinions.
And pretty soon all you hear are the extreme opinions shouting
So how can we have an adult conversation about it?
I think it’s important to have free and open speech as speech dictates thought.
but when even the most benign topics can lead to a polarised and heated debate in this “us Vs them” culture, It can be exhausting.
Do you feel safe voicing your opinion or prefer to keep it to yourself?
I try to share honest opinions,
to be genuine
and to contribute to open debate whenever I can.
But often entering a conversation with a reasoned, nuanced or “middle” opinion
Will only earn you attack from both sides.
So sometimes it’s better just to keep my opinions to myself.
