This isn’t a new concept, it has always been around and comes in very different varieties. Currently however, it seems to be screaming at us from not just our television screens, but also our computers. We know more faster now than ever before, and people are able to easily post lies and sell them as truths. I see it in my own state, in my town, in my own family. Politics were always a touchy subject in any community circle, but it was never something fought about inside my family.
I am a registered Democrat and until the election in 2016, so was my mother. We have always had a volatile relationship at times, but never has it been so explosive as now. People are being pitted against each other in ways we haven’t been in the past, it doesn’t which side you are on, it gets worse every day.
Reading articles and not caring whether they are supported by research or simply just written by a “keyboard warrior” as they are called. If the article says what they want to hear, that aligns with their views, it’s viewed as the truth. If you try to present them with proof that it’s not, most often they don’t try to see things from a different point of view. My mother is the perfect example of this, in fact if it’s research based on science she believes it even less.
Reading an article recently I came across something that made a lot of sense. Each side views events with bias. If you ask Democrats how the economy was before 2016 and Republicans, most often their opinions will be the opposite. The same is true if you asked about it since 2016. Many studies have been done to support this, even as far back as the 1950’s. 1
We’ve always had this divide between political parties, but as our community has grown, being able to talk with anyone, anywhere in the world at any time. The divide has grown and it will continue to grow as long as we continue to feed into it.
References
- Resnick, B. (2018, October 23). 9 essential lessons from psychology to understand the Trump era. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/4/11/16897062/political-psychology-trump-explain-studies-research-science-motivated-reasoning-bias-fake-news