Culture wars would be impossible without the internet and social media...
Take a fringe view, held by a few people per town. Before, it would never have reached critical mass.
But now those people can find likeminded souls all over the world, swelling their numbers to millions.
Take a fringe view, held by a few people per town. Before, it would never have reached critical mass.
But now those people can find likeminded souls all over the world, swelling their numbers to millions.
What happens when lots of like-minded people congregate in one place (even remotely)? A whole ecosystem develops to leech off them.
Thus the rise of far-right news channels in the US (and soon, the UK too), radio shock jocks, etc. etc.
Thus the rise of far-right news channels in the US (and soon, the UK too), radio shock jocks, etc. etc.
But something more dangerous happens too: mutual reinforcement.
Whatever conspiracy theory or knuckle-dragging societal viewpoint you subscribe to, you will have a never-ending stream of people all too willing to confirm your worldview.
You bolster theirs. They bolster yours.
Whatever conspiracy theory or knuckle-dragging societal viewpoint you subscribe to, you will have a never-ending stream of people all too willing to confirm your worldview.
You bolster theirs. They bolster yours.
At some level of "acceptance", of population penetration, what we think of as the more mainstream media begin pandering to the extremes, because that ready audience is just too big and too juicy to ignore.
And then you have the political parties that go after the same radical pools with more and more outrageous policies.
And the vicious cycle continues, because you have large groups with shared views, media and overt political representation. So they attract others.
And the vicious cycle continues, because you have large groups with shared views, media and overt political representation. So they attract others.
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