The (not so) Social Network (Prompt 1)

       Until very recently, Facebook was a huge part of my daily functioning. I would check it first thing in the morning, too many times during the day and before I went to bed at night. I was always connected. I used to think that Facebook or any social media was good because it allowed me to keep in touch with people who I didn’t get to see often, but during the 2016 election cycle, things changed. I was no longer using it to keep in touch with people but rather using it as a way to filter my acquaintances. People would post things I did not agree with and rather than engage in any real kind of discussion I would just de-friend them and move on. Facebook took notice and started showing me only posts by friends who had the same political leanings as I did. The algorithms produced articles and news that would indulge my incessant need for anti-right political fodder. More and more I felt like the world was going to hell in a hand basket. After the election, I decided that I was tired of being angry all the time. I was tired of the stress that came from living through a Facebook algorithm, so I deactivated my account and haven’t looked back.

            So I tell you all this because the question is, do these online platforms function as public spheres? As my anecdote details, there was a time I would have said yes, but the more I distance myself from social media, I think no.  On the yes side, I think that social media has the potential to be a great public sphere where people exchange ideas and grow revolutions. We have seen that in many cases where people rally around a cause and create movements like #blacklivesmatter. But in the same space, #bluelivesmatter emerged as a counter movement. Creating this "us against them" dynamic. I think that for a real public sphere to exist there has to be exposure to all sides of an issue. From there debate can happen and new ideas, or at least understanding, could emerge. On social media, you can opt out of receiving information you don’t agree with, creating this echo chamber of like-minded arguments. I don’t think it’s healthy because it's hurting the way we interact with different opinions. I am very guilty of this especially in the aftermath of the election. I think that social media has allowed us to connect in amazing ways but it has also created a divide and only time can tell what effects that divide will have on us.