Not everyone has the same relationship with social media, and not everyone loves or hates it the same amount and for the same reasons.  For some, it may be fine just the way it is for how they use it.  Below I’ve linked Tim Keller’s review of the book Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make Our Platforms Less Polarizing by Chris Bail, which has some helpful observations on why social media is so polarizing for many, and some thoughts on how to make it a better place for discussion.  Bail’s book is based on social science, not religion, but Keller connects it to Christian principles in interesting ways.

One of my favorite lines in the review is that “social media is not primarily a place of public discussion of ideas. The ideas are ways to define oneself and signal belonging to a group, as well as to assign identities to others by associating them with groups you oppose.”  Near the end are listed “several principles that [Bail] believes move toward persuasion in social media rather than polarization.”  It begins with listening and seeking to understand.

Full article linked below.
(Estimated reading time 10 minutes)