Good morning! Every once in a while, we fall into the trap of arguing on social media, triggering us to wage real little wars. In our media job, people just can’t stand humans on social networks. Here are some of my experiences and dilemmas I’d like to share with you.
Social media – can’t live with them, can’t live without them
For me, social media and communication on them are one of the dominant sources of stress. Even though I’m aware the “internet is not a real place” – as the Americans say – social media strongly impacts the formation of public opinion. Despite the awareness that being on social media is a road to destruction, carrying risks for mental and physical health, as well as the credibility of someone who spends every day in public space, I believe it’s important to be present.
Over time, social media becomes narrow for a reasonable exchange of arguments. Twitter used to be the place for that, after Facebook ran out of algorithms that pumped up sensationalism and became a clearinghouse for the extreme right and their activities.
After Musk took over, the same thing happened with Twitter. Any reasonable and moderate discussion on these channels was stifled and squeezed out. I don’t know whether you follow social media, but on Twitter there are options to follow the posts of only those you have subscribed to, but there is also a “for you” section that the algorithm has thought out for you. I don’t know why, but the amount of racism and anti-Semitism being served up lately is astounding. I don’t have a better word than this to explain the monstrous amount of medieval Jew-hatred, pervasive Islamophobia and racism being posted on Twitter. And not only that, we have open glorification of Nazism on these channels. No gloves. With Hitler’s pictures and swastikas. And all this under the cloak of the fight for freedom of speech.
In an attempt to adapt to this situation, I’ve changed tactics with the same strategic goal of informing the public. Instead of an arrogant and professorial approach, I often use social media to provoke. Not people, but controversy and discussion. I think that’s the most important role of those who live from public engagement. They not only dictate and shape narratives, but also listen and channel them. To make people think with their heads.
It’s often a Sisyphean task, given the information pollution we are witnessing, which threatens to dry up any form of critical thinking.
However, this dedicated social service on social media consumes considerable energy and time. When you couple this with the amount of stress you are absorbing from the hate and other bad emotions that are being poured your way, you rightly wonder “what’s in it for me?”.
Leaving is easy, it’s just a matter of how. The dopamine you get from interactions should be compared to the amount of cortisol secreted by bad emotions you get from social networks. Everything’s clear here. Dopamine should be sought in other and more productive places.
The problem is of a different nature. It concerns values. If you want, principles as well. If you consciously deny yourself space in public, do you acknowledge the victory of extremism? By leaving this arena, are we admitting defeat and leaving a clear space for the spread of hatred?
That’s all for today. Enjoy the rest of your day.
Kind regards,
Ljubomir Filipovic, CdM observer and columnist
(The opinions and views of our columnists aren’t necessarily those of the CdM news team)
