Structural Stupidity In The Right And The Left
The American culture wars between the left and right predate the rise of social media. However, the ideological distance between the two parties has accelerated since the 1990's and is most stark nowadays, per Pew research.
To understand why this is the case, let's analyze 3 social media phenomena:
Trolls and provocateurs dominate online conversations/forums/blogs versus the average, non-engaging good citizen. This skews the perspective of the reader to form a non-representative opinion of the subject he or she is reading.
Virality favors the political activists at the extremes, either the devoted conservative or the progressive activist. Both groups combined represent 14% of American population yet rank first and second in social media political postings.
Mob dynamics tend to emerge. Due to the lack of accountability in expressing any opinion online, small offenses are usually translated into real-world massive collective punishment that often ignores context and proportionality. See: cancel-culture.
All of these factors unfolding for a decade lead to what Haidt calls "structural stupidity", or expressed otherwise: the increased lack of independent critical thinking in the general population.
America started its rise as an empire in the early 1800s as a result of the knowledge-generating institutions it created, with science and experimentation being foundational in the search for truth. Pseudo-science and politics have hijacked these institutions and its members have started self-censoring in fear of losing their job or professional credibility.
Before, contrary evidence - the hallmark of science - was encouraged for prestige. Today, dissent is punished and cancelled.
Bad ideas have thus permeated institutions. Interestingly, the defense mechanisms for these ideas have come alive too. A progressive enemy is instantly labelled a "racist". A conservative enemy a "traitor". Public shaming and social death is the punishment, meaning there's little to no room for a respectful and thoughtful conversation to naturally develop online.
The implications of this flawed digital social structure underpinning everyday life can also be extrapolated past national boundaries, where stakes are the highest.
What happens when malicious state actors exploit Babel-less America through viral disinformation and deep-fake videos? It seems that American democracy is at stake.