Jonathan Haidt, on how social media is undermining democracy:
Social media has put us all in the middle of a Roman coliseum, and many in the audience want to see conflict and blood. But once we realize that we are the gladiators—tricked into combat so that we might generate “content,” “engagement,” and revenue—we can refuse to fight.
Wow, what a quote. Although most of this article is a fairly rigorous takedown of social media and it's tendency to encourage "tribal groupthink", Haidt does include some productive ways we can resist:
- Get better at listening with an open mind
- Speak in order to engage another human rather than impress everyone
- Teach these skills to our kids