We are becoming incapable of being in a relationship.
And social media is training us to be that way.
I watched the documentary The Social Dilemma.
One study shows how polarities have become increasingly amplified.
Especially between Democrats and Republicans, through social media.
This is not just about “different opinions.”
It is a mechanism.
We no longer see the same reality.
We no longer read the same information.
We no longer receive the same evidence.
Algorithms feed our convictions.
And protect us from disagreement.
They serve us what we already believe.
They shield us from what disturbs us.
And they turn nuance into a threat.
The result? We no longer live in the same world.
We live in parallel worlds.
So what happens?
We conclude that the other person is stupid, or dangerous, or “needs to be educated.”
And that is the beginning of the end.
Not of democracy.
Of relationship.
The most ironic part?
We have schools to teach us how to think, but not how to talk to one another.
No one teaches us how to:
Listen without preparing our defense,
Express disagreement without humiliating,
Stand firm without becoming rigid,
Seek truth without looking for someone to blame.
No one teaches us how to stay with each other, over time and through contradiction.
So yes, we see this in politics.
But let’s not reassure ourselves too quickly.
I see this polarization everywhere.
Especially in organizations.
Same mechanism.
Same damage.
Let me put it differently: the issue is not “opinions.”
The issue is our inability to hold the tension between two realities.
And that is something we can work on.