Keeping a Healthy Perspective on Social Media to Keep a Positive Outlook

It seems like our country is more divided than any other time in our country's history. Given this appears to be the case, it's difficult not to wonder why that is. Are the issues of our day to blame, or is it our modern means of communication (social media)?

Almost all the controversial issues discussed passionately have been around in one form or another for decades. It seems clear that social media is adding fuel to the fire of political/ideological disputes. Social media's very nature, which allows people to write anything they like (prior to the recent days of censoring content), often has people saying very mean things that they would never say in person.

And the algorithms are a big part of the problem.

When we use social media, our activities provide the algorithm feedback that will impact the content we see. Our feedback allows them to continue to feed us content we will "like," approve of or engage with. In other words, once you show any interest in a topic, you are suddenly bombarded with ads from people selling things related to that topic. When we like or share something, we get more of the same type of thing delivered to us back.

The result of this is that we are regularly swimming in a sea of opinions that we already agree with. Although in one respect, this is a good thing to communicate with like-minded people. But it also can fuel the fires of hatred very easily for those with who the group disagrees. Effectively, we avoid diverse information that can sometimes influence our view to change.

The only way around this is to purposely friend and like stuff from people you disagree with. Most do not do that. This effectively has them living in a sounding chamber of like minds only, and they don't even get to see the other side. The algorithms fuel this fire.

Because the things discussed on social media tend to be very personal issues, you might occasionally find yourself having complete disdain for friends or family who post content you oppose.

The best way to avoid getting worked up emotionally about things you disagree with is to simply refuse to comment. Stay out of the argument and let social media be something fun. Don't get involved in politics or religion. Stick with family pictures and vacations or jokes and exciting stuff about hobbies. You will find your social media experience to be much more positive with that approach.