Polarization Bubble
Opinions, beliefs and convictions act like muscles; the more you train them by repetition, the stronger they get. And like muscles they get even stronger when challenged and tested by opposing forces.
image by johnhain - source: Pixabay
When we really believe something, when we're convinced that something is true (or not), it's very hard for someone else to change that belief. It becomes harder with time to: the longer you hold an opinion, the stronger it gets rooted in your soul. It becomes progressively harder to really maintain an "open mind". And when our beliefs are challenged, we close off our minds and instead of listening to the one trying to change our minds, we race through our own thoughts, trying to find arguments to fend off the brutal invasion of unwanted information.
As much as we claim to hear the other and to really consider their view on a certain topic, this is how our brains work: we all want to be confirmed in our own beliefs and we naturally surround ourselves with souls we find agreeable. And now I'm just talking about our real-world lives: this basic human trait and it's effects are largely exaggerated in online social media and I'm worried about what I see happening. It seems as if the technology that has made our planet a "global village", the internet that connected us all together in cyberspace, is now becoming responsible for some of the most polarized times humanity has aver seen.
After reading this post you might thank Steemit for being so badly searchable
Because it's the search algorithms of the big media, headed by Google and YouTube (same thing), that are encapsulating each and every one of us in our very own confirmation-bubble. There's almost no online discussion about popular topics where the extremes don't take the spotlight. And it doesn't really matter what the topic being discussed is. I've seen word-wars being waged over the new Star Wars films, The Jordan Peterson hype, Trump, identity politics, the economy, environmental issues real and fake (don't get me started on those plastic straws again ;-)), a feminist game reviewer who's name I can't remember right now...
It seems to become harder for people to engage in normal conversations without trying to completely dehumanize the ideological opponent. I'm certain that the search algorithms and their confirmation bubbles are for a large part responsible for that development. On the other side there's the apparent addiction to these popular social media. If you've never seen Simon Sinek's video on millennials, pleas do so now: he explains precisely how this addiction works:
Simon Sinek on Millennials in the Workplace
In short, we get a dopamine-shot from our bodies when we receive confirmation in the form of likes, upvotes, follows, you know, the stuff we strive for here on Steemit to. It makes us feel good about ourselves. It's this constant feed of dopamine that make these social media literally addictive. I guess I'm lucky to not have grown up in a world with internet and social media; I still think it's strange that on the train and in the bus most people are constantly engaging with their mobile phone instead of the person next to them. My friend @meno wrote a beautiful post today about loneliness, and this is what it made me think of immediately: the paradoxical polarization of the interconnected humanity. Hence this spontaneous post.
And don't get me wrong here: I love all your upvotes, follows and comments, so please keep them coming ;-) It's just that I don't sit here waiting on them like I see so many of my younger peers do. As soon as their mobile beeps they grab for it and check if someone said "hi", or if they got a like on a picture they posted; they behave exactly like Sinek describes. What's scaring me is that this confirmation bubble induced polarization now seems to find it's way into the real world also. Trump's frequent twitter-wars translate in ever grimmer protests with ever more verbal and physical violence.
The only thing I can think of to say here, is share with you the reason I've been so absent from Steemit and Discord lately and barely manage to post once a day. I have a girlfriend, a 20 year old son, we all have jobs and my son also takes classes for a manager position, so life's always busy for me. But lately my girlfriend and I also have to help out at her parent's house as the old man is becoming very sick and my girlfriend's mother can't manage on her own anymore. So we help in any way we can and do that with love: they're really some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. But I guess that goes for most parents and grandparents :-)
Anyhow, this has been good for me: I've been away from my screen more and with real people more than in the last few years really. I might not be a social media addict, all my hobbies are done on a pc screen, be it crypto's, games, watching lectures, speeches and documentaries, listening to audio-books or reading e-books... And at work there's that same screen again; and to make it worse I can now work from home or anywhere else as long as there's an internet connection....
As much as I love you all my fellow steemians, there's just no substitute for real life interaction with real life people who you can actually touch, who's facial expressions and body-language you can actually see. And I'll never install Steemit on my mobile phone. I never had and never will have a Facebook account and Twitter I never understood: what meaningful things can be said in 140 characters? Really, quit that Twitter account, it's not good for anything or anyone; combine a potent confirmation bubble with a lack of space and you get the meaningless and harmful one-liners that space is filled with now.
source: Wikimedia Commons
And what about Steemit?
Well, it's strange, but I feel like the above is not as prevalent here on Steemit. Maybe that's my own bias talking, as Steemit is the only social media platform I use, unless you want to count WhatsApp. Or maybe I'm just not here long enough to witness any really ugly word-fights. Or maybe it's the fact that @helpie was kind enough to accept me within their ranks. Or is it the fact that we also combine Steemit with a lot of Discord and voice-chatting? I don't really know, but my experience here, with you all, has been pleasant, certainly not as hostile as I've seen on some YouTube comment sections or Facebook pages (my girlfriend has a Facebook account).
Let's not fall for that trap here, my friends, and keep the hostility away or at least to a bare minimum. Let's try and keep ourselves free, not caged by our own biases, beliefs or ideologies and listen, really listen to the ones we don't agree with. Get away from screens regularly, big or small, and discuss life's matters face to face, and put away your mobile while doing that. And when online, try to subscribe to or follow a content creator you don't agree with and make a real effort to see the opposing viewpoint. It's difficult and becomes more difficult with time, like I said at the start, but we owe it to ourselves to at least try. The ability to have your mind changed by someone else is a gift, not defeat. It's a sign of a kind of mental flexibility that's becoming rare in our networked global village.
You, my friends, are the lean mean steeming machines of the future ;-) Thanks, as always, for finding the mental flexibility to endure my ramblings, and feel free to test the boundaries of your own confirmation bubbles in the comment section below. Or on another post you don't agree with ;-) I hope to see you all back here tomorrow!
Recent articles you might be interested in:
| Latest article >>>>>>>>>>> | It's A MAD World |
|---|---|
| STEEM Is Still Doing Great! | Moral Dilemma |
| Starting On Steemit: My 4 Month 1 Year Anniversary | The Last Straw |
| Presence | Collectivindualist Gaia |
Thanks for stopping by and reading. If you really liked this content, if you disagree (or if you do agree), please leave a comment. Of course, upvotes, follows, resteems are all greatly appreciated, but nothing brings me and you more growth than sharing our ideas. It's what Steemit is made for!
Just for Full Disclosure, I'm invested in these crypto-currencies:
Bitcoin | Litecoin | EOS | OmiseGo | FunFair | KIN | Pillar | DENT | Polymath | XDCE | 0x | Decred | Ethereum | Carmel | XYO
Good words, I feel very identified with the last paragraphs that you wrote, I practically made a routine in which I included all my daily activities, and most of them were in front of a PC screen. For the rest, like you, I do not use other social networks, with the exception of YouTube, and Steemit of course.
Thank you so much for reading and leaving this response @vieira, I appreciate that :-) I'm glad that you're conscious about this and apparently already are a moderate user of social media; it's not that social media are inherently bad, on the contrary they should give us the chance to communicate more and understand each other better. Just as long as we're conscious about what the effect on us is and act accordingly.
Curated for #informationwar (by @openparadigm)
Our purpose is to encourage posts discussing Information War, Propaganda, Disinformation and other false narratives. We currently have over 7,500 Steem Power and 20+ people following the curation trail to support our mission.
Join our discord and chat with 150+ fellow Informationwar Activists.
Connect with fellow Informationwar writers in our Roll Call! InformationWar - Contributing Writers/Supporters: Roll Call Pt 10
Ways you can help the @informationwar
Thanks so much, @openparadigm, I'm honored :-)