4 ms·

I'm convinced that these platforms are a huge driver, if not the main driver of social and political polarisation.

• erickhill 3y ago
  24/7 365 "Breaking News" TV - AKA spin factories - complete with scrolling tickers and a combative talking head format (with programs that may or may not have actual trained journalists, but so-called experts at expressing their biased opinions) is the other huge driver.
• internet101010 3y ago
  That's pretty well understood though, right? If love and fear are primary drivers of engagement and fear is a stronger emotion than love then steering viewers to view things that upset them is in the best interest of the company that earns its revenue from keeping them engaged.
• pfannkuchen 3y ago
  Rapid moral change is the main driver, but internet platforms may have accelerated that.
• serf 3y ago
  the money/power/fame are the drivers, the social media platforms open up the search for those things to a much wider audience while espousing the importance. that is to say : social media isn't innocent, but it's a co-factor in the larger human-dominating infinite search for power and fame.