Trump Era Mountain Community Social Media

I've been thinking on this topic since you posted it GeorgeM (thank you for that, I appreciate having something the ponder more in-depth!), and I keep circling back to two thoughts possibly due to much of my bias of thinking about the bigger picture and causes of unrest in order to find solutions.

First, as I've mentioned here before in terms of our moderating, what you allow is what will continue. The converse for that applies as well - if you mostly visit sites and expose yourself to that which is not controlled, pushes only a one-sided agenda, or fits only your worldview to provide comfort and reinforcement, then you are affecting your psyche in profound ways (and you may not even realize it). It's been proven that social media affects our personality, our moods, and our mental health; is it any wonder that by participating online in places that don't have sufficient standards for civility that our society has become more uncivilized?

I moved to Conifer in 2002 and political forums were always contentious even back then. I was attacked by some after my very first post on Pinecam and called a Big Pharma shill for simply refuting misinformation on vaccines with evidence from journals and the CDC. I'd never once in my life worked for a pharmaceutical company and none of the other posters had a single clue who I was or what I did, some of them just made assumptions because they disagreed with my information and attacked. However, you could at least have debates back and forth between most people with disparate beliefs. Then came the rise of social media.

Facebook, in particular, has allowed people to insulate themselves by getting overloaded with information from friends (mostly, not all, like-minded people). With how much the platform has restricted and artificially decided the trickle of information it shows each user (even of what they themselves have told FB they liked), coupled with it not policing the quality or veracity of content and the explosion of groups with nefarious intentions, it's caused a profound shift toward a feedback loop of disinformation (propaganda) and narrow-mindedness if people only get their news from there, and had dubious influence on our mental health.

(For some thoughtful chewing on information quality, I highly recommend Jim Wright's essay Critical Path on Stonekettle Station.)

Members with whom I used to have great debates, where we actually listened to one another, debunked each other's biases and preconceived notions, sometimes actually learned from one another, and all made calls for civility from others, now can barely restrain themselves from sneering and insulting. I see people who used to be positive, friendly, and engaging now in spaces where they snarl, get cheers from fellow tribesmen, refuse to accept anything which disagrees with their entrenched worldview, and no longer participate in even more light-hearted, fun banter.

It's been disheartening to say the least, and I think our polarization has led to this. Some of that is external, from enemies who seek to divide us, who use emotional propaganda to ramp up our fear and hatred of our fellow Americans so we don't see the true threats; but I think it's more than that...

Second, whether we admit it outwardly or not, I believe that individually every one of us recognizes at least on a subconscious, instinctual level that we are building toward seriously awful changes due to the effect of our over-population, misuse of natural resources, and worldwide unsustainable lifestyles. Changes in climate historically have caused entire previous societies (and species) to become extinct or scattered so much as to lose their heritage to the mists of time. With this pending fight or flight survival instinct triggered, I think that's partly why we have seen over the decades the growing divide between the haves and have-nots (i.e. 1%ers). The more wealth, land, and power you acquire, the more likely you are to weather the coming upheaval in our economy and way of life.

In times of great change, local and regional tribes form for mutual protection and benefit, amassing that which will aid in survival, and this process includes weeding out those you feel are "undesirable" who won't improve the fitness of the group. Whether merit-based on actual survival or simply a matter of being different (and different is bad), I think that's what we're seeing a lot of. We are tied to this earth through the very elements that make up our bodies, we see the increase in devastating fires, heat waves, hurricanes, and drought, and our primitive minds know we're in for a not-so-fun ride.

That's at least my going theory. If you have a better one, I'd love to hear it!

Hmm, it might be time to pull this off the shelf... Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies