1/Random politics thread, because I'm bored.
I think an overlooked reason that social media is making our politics more contentious is that it undoes the "Big Sort", and kills cultural federalism.
I think an overlooked reason that social media is making our politics more contentious is that it undoes the "Big Sort", and kills cultural federalism.
2/For decades, Americans had been sorting themselves politically. You had red states and blue states, red towns and blue cities.
amazon.com/Big-Sort-Clust…
amazon.com/Big-Sort-Clust…
3/In the 2000s, everyone talked about "coastal" values vs. "flyover country".
We assumed that was bad, because it would lead to polarization and local echo chambers.
But maybe it was a modus vivendi. A compromise that allowed liberals and conservatives to share a country.
We assumed that was bad, because it would lead to polarization and local echo chambers.
But maybe it was a modus vivendi. A compromise that allowed liberals and conservatives to share a country.
4/If you wanted traditional values and low taxes, you could move to a small city in Kansas. If you wanted a cosmopolitan life and liberal values, you could live in NYC or LA.
5/But now, with social media, where you live matters less. The people you interact with are spread all over the country - even in other countries.
We sorted, and then social media un-sorted us.
We sorted, and then social media un-sorted us.
6/Now, even if you're a conservative living in flyover country, a lefty can drag you on Twitter or Facebook. Even if I live in deep-blue San Francisco, Nazi trolls from East Europe can flood my feed.
7/Facebook forces us to be in a room with everyone we know. Twitter forces us to be in a room with everyone we don't know.
Imagine throwing everyone in the world into a room and telling them to work out their differences and get along.
What do you think will happen??
Imagine throwing everyone in the world into a room and telling them to work out their differences and get along.
What do you think will happen??
8/Instead of geographic space creating natural boundaries between people who don't share each other's values, social media forces us to rely on more active measures - blocking, unfriending, and even insults and trolling to make people go away.
9/On the upside, perhaps this process - after a long period of screaming and hate and unhappiness - really will result in less polarization, and the reemergence of a more unified national culture.
10/It could even conceivably result in more linguistic nationalism, like what we saw in 19th century Europe, since the natural communication barrier is now not geography but shared language.
Of course, really great translation software could change that too.
Of course, really great translation software could change that too.
11/I'm not sure whether to be scared or excited about the possibility of social media homogenizing our culture. But the alternative - irreconcilable ideological conflicts and eternal infinite flame wars - seems worse.
Or maybe we'll just all quit social media.
(end)
Or maybe we'll just all quit social media.
(end)
