Social Media Plus Tribalism Makes Us Dumb
Jonathan Haidt has a worthwhile longform article for The Atlantic about why American life has become increasingly “uniquely stupid.” In short, social media is to blame. Haidt traces all the ways he believes that social media is what ails us. In particular, he points out that the "Retweet" and "Share" functions on Twitter and Facebook, respectively, have become like darts we lob at each other's brains until we have become dumber and dumber.
Haidt's main point about the darts is not that we use them against people of other tribes but that we use them against our tribe who do not tow the party line. Are you a Republican who believes that systemic racism might play a part in the oppression of minorities in America? Republicans further to the Right than you will "retweet" you into obsolescence. Are you a Democrat who is pro-life? A dart is coming for you from the far Left. Haidt argues that we are becoming dumber because social media, while exacerbating the worse demons of our nature, has made it easier for us to expel all but the true believers. And when any faction has no room for nuance or critical thinking, things fall apart.
Too many Americans have allowed themselves to be siloed off in echo chambers that only tell them what they already believe and want to know. Social media certainly plays a part in those echo chambers, but cable news and talk radio are part of the problem as well. Haidt offers three solutions to the problem as he sees it: 1) harden democratic institutions, 2) reform social media, and 3) prepare the next generation.
There are many groups working to address this problem. Appreciatively, Haidt mentioned Bridge Alliance, where many of these groups connect and work together on these issues. American Values Coalition recently joined Bridge Alliance and we look forward to contributing to the effort.
3 More Things
1) Elizabeth Dias and Ruth Graham (always read Ruth) have a harrowing story for any on the Right, but especially Christians, in the New York Times about the growing religious fervor on the American Right. Dias and Graham report on the growing use of Evangelical worship songs in partisan political protests. While they do point out that songs like Way Maker have also been used at "demonstrations for racial justice in the summer of 2020," on the whole contemporary worship songs are becoming integral parts of far-right political rallies. Dias and Graham's story is yet another entry in the growing evidence that some see far-right politics and evangelicalism as the same.
2) Keep an eye on Grid news and their newest series, The United States of QAnon. The first entry in this series highlights the growing number of QAnon related candidates running for office in 26 states. As one might expect, "all but six of the QAnon-aligned candidates Grid examined are Republican." Grid reports on the number of GOP mega-donors the candidates have and the current GOP senators lending credibility to the QAnon conspiracy. But most interesting is the reporting on the QAnon voter. Grid reports that 15% of Americans believe in some or all of Q's tenets and that "PRRI found Americans who trust far-right news outlets such as One America News Network and Newsmax were nearly five times as likely to be QAnon believers as those who trust mainstream news."
3) Speaking of controversial topics that do not seem to be going away, David French's latest French Press discusses how the fight over CRT (Critical Race Theory) is becoming akin to a religious war. French, as usual, traces a heady topic in a way that is easy to digest. But his closing paragraph shows why the conversations around CRT, and many other issues, are necessary to a vibrant democracy: "This is the exact wrong time to close Christian hearts and minds to thoughtful voices, including thoughtful voices who offer new approaches to our understandings of race and justice in the United States. You don't have to agree. You can and should dissent when you sincerely believe ideas are wrong. But when activists shout "CRT" about ideas they don't like, they're not defending the faith, they're often trying to block you from perspectives that Christian believers need to hear."