There is no doubt that social media has brought significant changes in the ways we communicate with each other. Most people are constantly in conversation with someone on some online platform. This explosion in communication technology has opened many channels of communication for many people in the world. This was supposed to create some positive revolution in the connectivity of human beings as most of us now have a very convenient medium to connect not only with our immediate surroundings but also with the rest of the world. Geographical boundaries which used to be a limiting factor don't matter much as far as verbal and written communication is concerned. All this should have brought us closer and opened many new ways to understand each other in a better way. But, what I find is that people are becoming more and more exclusive in the way they want to interact with others. They are moving away from each other by forming exclusive groups. There are many exclusive message groups, chat rooms, forums, and whatnot where only like-minded people come together and criticize people who don't agree with them. It has become harder to communicate with each other in a thoughtful, civil, and constructive way. I am not denying that there are many groups where there is very thoughtful and useful discussion, where people help each other or support victims of various problems, but it is really hard not to notice the polarization of opinions on social media.
Maybe, I am noticing this polarization more because I am part of many different groups as I don't subscribe to any particular ideology or religion. This might be true, but I see that there are many who are complaining about the same problem. What I noticed is, that all these groups are constantly engaged in ridiculing each other, each want's other group to get lost from this planet, and they absolutely don't see any positive thing in the other side's argument. The communication in such groups is very partisan, and rarely any dissent is encouraged or even tolerated. After reading messages from many of these groups, sometimes I wonder whether social media is uniting or dividing the world?
There is no doubt that social media has made it easy to communicate with people who are not in our immediate physical vicinity. Now we can pick and choose people from all over the world and form a group to discuss something that we like or endorse. We don't have to find like-minded people within our friend circle or family to have a group chat. However, this doesn't mean we should become totally ignorant or dismissive about the opinions and views of people around us or people who don't agree with us. This newly found technological tool should not be the reason to shut the doors for alternative views and only engage with people who affirm or validate our opinions. This should not be the reason to conveniently ignore all the facts that don't support our argument and shut the door for anyone who sounds contrary opinion to our views and points out some factual mistakes in our argument. But, it seems many people are busy doing these types of things. Open minds are getting rare, and highly emotional conversations have replaced rational conversations. Very few are interested in finding the areas of mutual agreements. People are quick to make assumptions based on limited data. They are in a rush to judge others, there is a lack of empathy, and most people are not willing to assume any positive intent in other parties that disagree with them.
If it continues like this, I don't know how many political groups within a political group, or religious sects within a religion we will have. The danger is very clear, polarization of our society at an unprecedented level. Now, we have to decide whether we want to continue like this or would like to bring some civility to our online interactions, especially, while interacting with people who disagree with us on various topics. The choice is ours, as we are the ones who are going to enjoy or suffer the consequences of our choices.
Maybe, I am noticing this polarization more because I am part of many different groups as I don't subscribe to any particular ideology or religion. This might be true, but I see that there are many who are complaining about the same problem. What I noticed is, that all these groups are constantly engaged in ridiculing each other, each want's other group to get lost from this planet, and they absolutely don't see any positive thing in the other side's argument. The communication in such groups is very partisan, and rarely any dissent is encouraged or even tolerated. After reading messages from many of these groups, sometimes I wonder whether social media is uniting or dividing the world?
There is no doubt that social media has made it easy to communicate with people who are not in our immediate physical vicinity. Now we can pick and choose people from all over the world and form a group to discuss something that we like or endorse. We don't have to find like-minded people within our friend circle or family to have a group chat. However, this doesn't mean we should become totally ignorant or dismissive about the opinions and views of people around us or people who don't agree with us. This newly found technological tool should not be the reason to shut the doors for alternative views and only engage with people who affirm or validate our opinions. This should not be the reason to conveniently ignore all the facts that don't support our argument and shut the door for anyone who sounds contrary opinion to our views and points out some factual mistakes in our argument. But, it seems many people are busy doing these types of things. Open minds are getting rare, and highly emotional conversations have replaced rational conversations. Very few are interested in finding the areas of mutual agreements. People are quick to make assumptions based on limited data. They are in a rush to judge others, there is a lack of empathy, and most people are not willing to assume any positive intent in other parties that disagree with them.
If it continues like this, I don't know how many political groups within a political group, or religious sects within a religion we will have. The danger is very clear, polarization of our society at an unprecedented level. Now, we have to decide whether we want to continue like this or would like to bring some civility to our online interactions, especially, while interacting with people who disagree with us on various topics. The choice is ours, as we are the ones who are going to enjoy or suffer the consequences of our choices.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
