It is. Who benefits from rage? It encourages clicking through on a link, commenting on an article, or reflexively voting for a candidate in an election.
It makes wealthy people more money and it makes populations more manipulable. People are angry because other people are trying to get them angry.
You should not participate in social platforms. If you spend a year off them, I am certain you will notice a difference in your peace of mind and productivity.
If you think this is limited to social media you need to read some edward bernays or some noam chomsky. To isolate yourself from the propaganda machine you need to read nothing at all. Live as a troglodyte perhaps. Or you can learn that most of anything intended to be presented to more than one person is in fact propaganda seeking to slant your perspective toward one more favorable to someone elses motives, and continue living life relatively immune to this thanks to the knowledge of its existence.
If you think "knowledge" that people are trying to influence you with propaganda somehow insulates you entirely from it's effects, you are the propagandist's favorite person.
I never said this insulates you entirely, I said relatively immune, and isolating yourself on the other hand would require living in a cave. Of course you can be aware of propaganda and still be influenced by it. Everything you read imparts an influence on your thinking to a degree, whether it be a bible verse or a wheaties ad or this very comment.
Yeah, you can argue Sean Hannity was a pioneer, as well as the alt-right. I don't think the alt-left has come close to matching the overall ridiculousness, truthiness and evil.
Still they have their moments, and it seems people care more big picture, than the veracity of the argument; but there's valid reasons for that.
People are sick of being manipulated by arguments that seem so logical, yet drive them in directions they think are evil.
If you're a Christian, chances are you think this about abortion or something. For people (me) that are "woke" it's racism/bigotry.
There's legitimate reasons not to hear people out on some of these issues.
Is there a law of the universe that there's a fixed amount of bad at any time? What accounts for the prevention of things actually worsening, such that we write off attempts to analyze it?
Which is it, things have always been the same amount of bad so it's not worth discussion, or things have been much worse and could again be much worse so preventing another bad period isn't worth discussion?
Is the glass half full or half empty? Completely full but half air? Twice as much volume as needed? Is the correct half of the glass full? Is the glass even actually made of glass?
Things are bad, still bad, and are also better too. For example many are still financially unstable, but there is little risk today to losing a village to barbarian incursions.
>>> but there is little risk today to losing a village to barbarian incursions.
Well shucks Bill the barbarians came in and raped and pillaged again. They did what to your wife... They took mine and the kids... Yea we should probably be more broken up about this but we're fuckin dead.
200 years ago regardless of what color your skin was there is a chance slavery was an option for you...
You live in absolute calm, and opulence compared to any other point in human history.
There is always "bad" if you go looking for it. Not saying it's not worth discussion, but I think the "rage" that is the subject of TFA can be at least partly addressed by some broader perspective and understanding that things, overall, are better than at most times in human history.
Rage doesn't really solve any problems. It's a self-centered, infantile reaction: something is making ME angry and I'M going to throw a fit in response because I don't know what else to do. I'm not saying "shrug; things have been worse" is the alternative, but it might help people channel their desire for change to more effective outlets, and to realize that eye-popping rage is an out-of-proportion response to the slight offense that was just experienced.
It makes wealthy people more money and it makes populations more manipulable. People are angry because other people are trying to get them angry.
You should not participate in social platforms. If you spend a year off them, I am certain you will notice a difference in your peace of mind and productivity.