What explains so much hatred and misinformation on Facebook?
Facebook (or Twitter) is toxic. With loads of hate, trolling, misinformation, disinformation, straight-out lies, threats of rape, murder, lynching and assault flying around, it comes as no surprise when Pew Research reports that since the scandalous Cambridge Analytica revelations, in US ‘around four-in-ten (42%) say that they have taken a break from checking the platform for a period of several weeks or more, while around a quarter (26%) say they have deleted the Facebook app from their cellphone’, aged 18 and above. The reasons range from excessive negativity to trolling and privacy issues. But what makes Facebook (or for that matter any other social media platform) a hub of hatred and false propaganda. In this article, we will look at the three most common reasons.
Destruction of Empathy and Dehumanization
In his video titled, “The Death of Facebook: How Social Media Ripped Apart a Generation”, Australia based Youtuber, Dagogo Altraide dives into the phenomenon that was Facebook and the many reasons why people are turning away from it.
One of the most perceptible change that social media has brought is the complete obliteration of empathy in humans, the ability to feel and reciprocate humane behaviours. A 2010 report by University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research has found that today’s college students, as compared to their 90s and 80s counterparts, are less likely to exhibit empathetic behaviour, almost 40 per cent lower. That means they are less likely to help a stranger carry their belongings or allow someone else to get ahead in the line or to just help out a friend.
The instances of people clicking selfies with the dead body of their loved ones or recording videos as people die in accidents are a common sight. It comes as no surprise that some people reportedly film themselves as they lynch an individual. With its emphasis on collecting more likes, comments and shares, the social media platforms have made people more self-centric and individualistic.
The other thing that the destruction of empathy has done is to dehumanize individuals. When people lose their ability to feel others, they are more likely to abuse, issue threats and in worst cases, cause bodily harm. The many instances of anonymous accounts and strangers calling for rape or murder of people opposed to their point of view is a direct implication of dehumanization.
Dunning — Kruger Effect
Proposed in 1999, Dunning — Kruger effect states that a person with limited knowledge on a topic is more confident in what he says and grossly overestimates his abilities. It comes from their inability to recognize their lack of ability due to the absence of the self — awareness of metacognition. How can they evaluate themselves if they don’t know much about it in the first place? The theory states that as people gain knowledge, they become less and less confident until they reach a stage where they begin to regain it, particularly because they have begun to understand it.
Now, the social media is not something which is full of experts and the people who have less knowledge are much more likely to comment or post a status than the ones who know it, given their high confidence. This gives rise to situations where completely idiotic statements begin to flood the platform.
It is perhaps the reason why we see so many senseless comments and replies to the post of experts or people who write something knowledgeable. Never has this effect been more pronounced in the history of mankind than it does now, in the age of social media.
Confirmation Bias
The third spoke in the wheel is the presence of confirmation bias. People are more likely to believe in things, news or facts that are suited to their ideology or belief, regardless of the source of information. The reason behind the loss of faith in media outlets is a direct result of this. It is at the root of both the creation and propagation of fake news. What one believes in becomes the truth and the ones averse to it are conveniently labelled fake news.
While all of these reasons are equally responsible for many ills on their own, when combined they become lethal. A person with least knowledge is more vocal and at the same time is unable to comprehend opposing points of view. Worse, their entrenched beliefs also make it a lot more difficult to make them understand the correct fact. While a more informed person, by virtue of Dunning — Kruger, stays silent. This invariably leads to an outpour of a lot of hate, trolling, threats and manufactured outrage. As long as any of these conditions persist, the platform for connecting people will remain toxic.
I can be reached on twitter @TheRahul_Raj.
