Consequences and Conclusion

CONSEQUENCES AND THE THREAT TO DEMOCRACY

The consequences of information in relation to the internet is not limited to these extremely violent acts; the consequences are deeply rooted in our society. Political sectarianism is a growing problem in America. The idea that the side you're on is completely in the right, and the opposing side is in the wrong. It even extends past purely political views. Most people on opposing sides feel the other are bad, as in morally corrupt, “More than half of Republicans and more than 40 percent of Democrats tend to think of the other party as “enemies,” rather than “political opponents,” according to a CBS News poll conducted in January. A majority of Americans said that other Americans were the greatest threat to America” (Nate Cohn, Why Political Sectarianism Is a Growing Threat to American Democracy). Theo E.J. Wilson, brings up a concept that was presented to him while he went undercover into alt-right internet groups, “And to be honest, there were a couple of fair points. One of them is how Liberals have this wide acceptance for everybody, except for those with honestly held conservative viewpoints” (Theo E.J. Wilson, A Black Man Undercover in the Alt-right). This idea definitely remains true in modern-day American society. A dichotomy between two opposing sides, which is even represented visually. Take the state of Pennsylvania, for example. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are well-known to be very liberall cities, but once you get to the rural areas of the state, you start to see more “Trump 2020” signs, and even confederate flags. Sectarianism in America is not only a reality, It’s a dangerous reality, “...Ireland, the Middle East and South Asia, regions where religious sectarianism led to dysfunctional government, violence, insurgency, civil war and even disunion or partition”(Nate Cohn, Why Political Sectarianism Is a Growing Threat to American Democracy). Rashida Richardson, an Adjunct Professor at NYU School of Law, warns about the dangers of algorithms, “We all simply are operating on a different set of facts. When that happens at scale, you’re no longer able to reckon with or even consume information that contradicts with that worldview that you’ve created. That means we aren’t actually being objective constructive individuals.” We can see this firsthand, on the day of January 6, 2021, where a violent protest by extremist right-wing individuals took place, henceforth known as the “Capitol Riots.” These people were provoked by alt-right groups, and even right-wing politicians themselves, saying that the presidential election was rigged in Joe Biden’s favor. After months of hearing that if Donald Trump doesn’t win (often by Trump himself) the election was fraudulent, Trump supporters found it their duty to storm the US Capitol, and steal back the election, because, in the words of Hank Green, if you truly believe that the election was rigged, then the right thing to do is storm the Capitol. Here we can see an active occasion in which the internet and social media posed an immediate threat to American democracy.

CONCLUSION

Social media has brought a lot of good to society; its reunited families, organized protests, found lost children, and allows people to see other parts of the world. But even all that good can’t negate the bad. Social media also gives you access to a world of information at your fingertips, and that can be incredible and incredibly dangerous. At what cost does all of this happen? A poorly-functioning democracy, a society on the brink of civil war? Even now, amidst several domestic and global conflicts, we see many people reposting the same infographic, without doing thorough research themselves, because they seem correct; these graphics can have vastly misleading information that have the potential to cause insurgence on a basis that is false, and even harmful. In our current state, it seems like change is impossible, but it’s not. As social media itself has shown us, change can start anywhere, for the bad and the good. Now more than ever, we are starting to see people come forward and talk about why platforms like Instagram or Facebook are harmful in some ways. And now more than ever, it is so important that we start educating ourselves and each other about the dangers as much as the benefits; talk to your friends and family about the information they’re consuming on a daily basis, talk to your children how to navigate the internet and teach them how to detect the things that could possibly hurt them.