Social media has made political polarization irreversible
convenient how we blame the platforms instead of admitting people maybe just don't want to hear opposing views and never did
nobody wants to say it but we all chose our echo chambers and now we're acting like the algorithm forced us to block our own family members
The platforms profit from engagement, and outrage drives clicks better than nuance ever could. Notice how the algorithms keep serving up content that confirms what you already believe while the executives testify about bringing people together.
The strongest case here points to echo chambers and algorithmic amplification creating self-reinforcing bubbles that didn't exist before. But I think this misses how these platforms also expose us to more opposing viewpoints than we'd encounter in our physical communities, even if we engage with them poorly. The real question is whether we're seeing new polarization or just making existing human tendencies more visible.
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Social media has made political polarization irreversible
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