By Kayla DeKraker
In recent years, social media critics have sounded alarms about a growing “outrage culture” and the idea that platforms are designed to create anger, division and emotional responses. Many Americans seem to agree.
According to a recent poll by the New York Times and Siena, 13% of the 1,313 participants ranked polarization/division as the most important problem in our country, second only to the economy.
But what exactly is the source of all the division?
TODAY pointed out that social media often amplifies things that cause rage.
“The downside, at the end of the day, everything just goes to the most terrible types of things that human nature will be attracted to,” Jon Davids, CEO and marketing expert at Influicity, said of social media algorithms.
He added, “Explosions, we’re going to look at train crashes, we’re going to look at whatever grabs our attention and gets that dopamine hit instantly.”
Related: How Facebook’s Algorithm ‘Rewards Outrage and Lies’
The more you watch certain types of content, the more the algorithm feeds you that.
“What the algorithms figured out is there’s something better than sex — and that’s rage,” entrepreneur Scott Galloway said. “Enragement equals engagement, equals more ads, equals more shareholder value.”
Online rage can spill over into real-world violence.
The Global Investigative Journalism Network reported that “Myanmar political leaders used Facebook to dehumanize and demonize the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority, which led to violence against the group.”
Additionally, the constant stream of engaging content keeps us glued to social media far longer than we should, further fueling anger and frustration.
According to Psychology Today, “We misjudge how much time we spend online; we think we’re just scrolling — but we’re participating, we think social media reflects, rather than distorts, the world, and we believe we’re more savvy about misinformation than we actually are.”
So what’s the solution?
“Set goals for your social media use,” said psychologist Daria J. Kuss, “create dedicated space for social media use, establish social media-free times. Approach social media use mindfully, and unburden yourself of constant reminders.”
But most importantly, when we find ourselves getting angry by what we see online, we need to reset our focus on the things God wants us to think about, as Paul shares in Philippians.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things,” Philippians 4:8 reads. Rage-baiting content online isn’t any of those things.
Paul adds that when we put these things into practice, “the God of peace will be with you,” which is certainly what our outraged world needs.
There is no perfect formula for eliminating negative social media influences, but by looking to God and resetting our habits, we can experience peace in a world driven by anger.
Read Next: Is TikTok’s Algorithm Really as Dangerous as We Think?
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