Obviously we live in the age of social media where we are essentially reliant on it in order to communicate. Especially in my age group, there is a lack of general acceptance and a heightened difficulty to develop connections, which has been highlighted by the pandemic.
Over 79% of Americans are active users of some sort of social media. This is boggling considering just 15 years ago, that same group represented only 16% of the population. Over that same amount of time, there has been an evident dissension between various groups within our country. Most notably, the political polarization of the US has come to the forefront of virtually our everyday lives. It's in the news, it's in sports, it's at school, it's on the phone in conversations with family.
Yes there has always been dissent between groups, but why is it that now we feel as though this contention has come to a point it has never reached before?
Well, I will set forth an argument to explain why I believe that is.
P1: 79% of Americans actively use social media*
P2: Social media algorithms show people what they want to see.
P3: Due to confirmation bias, the more someone is exposed what they want to see,
the less likely they are to be open to differing views.
C1: The citizens of the US are becoming closed-minded.
P4: If people are more closed minded, there is a higher likelihood of conflict.
C2: The US is more likely to have conflicts as a result of social media usage.
*As of 2019 according to Statista
Granted, there are a number of other things social media has allowed us to do, such as find more friends with similar opinions and outlooks, thereby reiterating the confirmation bias that is present on the platforms themselves.
I think the increased conflict and lack of open-mindedness will also have longer term implications on our productivity as a nation. Because of the increased conflict and increased amount of time worrying and engaging in conflict itself, we are taking away from the vital time we have on this planet to learn and innovate to improve our society for the better. Because we are so worried about our petty problems right now.
Social media also generates a present time bias, giving us the impression that now is the most vital and important time in history, therefore, all of our focus should be on the right here right now. We feel as though now is the most important or most dramatic period of all time when in fact it likely is not, even in the wake of historic events.
Also, consider the news media argument... though I do not have the justification for it in my back pocket, I believe it would make sense. News media is essentially the same thing as social media with even less diversity. Think about it: you flip to the news channel you wish to view and that's all you see - the same things reiterated over and over.
P1: 50% of Americans watch or read the news.
P2: When Americans watch or read the news, they watch the news that best fits
their preferences.
P3: Americans watch news that sensationalize and shows them what they want to
see.
P4: Due to confirmation bias, the more someone is exposed what they want to see,
the less likely they are to be open to differing views.
C1: The citizens of the US are becoming more closed-minded.
P5: If people are more closed minded, there is a higher likelihood of conflict.
C2: The US is more likely to have conflicts as a result sensationalized news.
To be continued...
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