What started as harmless algorithms serving us more cute animal videos based on our historic consumption of media; has evolved into echo-chambers for ideology. We are no longer challenged by opposite views. Instead, we are dumbed down by what we like, not what would enrich our understanding of the world. Worryingly, the more our point of view is reiterated, the more likely we believe we are right – pushing our position even deeper.
For as long as humans have been around, our fate has been sealed as we are born. Societies segregate us into groups from the moment we take our first breath, which may lead us to interact mostly with a single race, religion, political and social class… As we grow, we’ll seek the comforts of groups and environments we relate to, which cement our views of the world.
The digital world has sped up this polarization, leading to an extreme change in our politics, racial tension and sprouting a worrying lack of critical thinking. Social media facilitated the Egyptian revolution in 2011, and there’s no reason it couldn’t end up doing the same across the West.
But how, in this current climate. can we re-balance society?