This is an insightful question because it contains many truths. Life is always more complicated than it appears on the surface. The same is certainly true for the big picture when it comes to the culture as a whole and its many working parts. Nothing happens through accident. There is some trial and error in human activity but it is always purpose-driven and the agenda derives from what has come before—the level of knowledge, awareness, and insight in reaction to history, one’s personal experiences, and the cultural beliefs of the current time and what is agreed upon in common, what is desirable to have and to support as a collective endeavor. To have one’s energies devoted to things that will have a broad appeal and therefore make some money for the contributors, often as a livelihood, but certainly to have something that is attractive and perceived as having value, is satisfying to everyone on many levels.
What has happened here is that the technological innovations making possible social media platforms, like everything else in human culture, is being manipulated to draw out the worst in people and make it possible to spread the poison much more widely than could ever happen through word of mouth alone. Throughout history, mass movements have taken place but only over large spans of time, simply because of inefficiency in communication. So what was more typical was small pockets of negativity, aberrant belief, behavior, and criminality, and if one simply could travel even a short distance, could become free of such difficulties or at least have a much superior environment.
Today’s world, in effect, has shrunk from the ability of communication to reach anyone anywhere no matter the origin or quality of the message. When there is attempt to rein in extremes it is often done with a cynical, self-serving, and often political agenda of censorship so it is something that appears to offer a level playing field and a useful platform to the individual, but in fact is a rigged game increasingly, through manipulation of thought and censorship of beliefs thought to be outliers but may well be the actual truth.
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