The global pandemic has given me object lessons in mathematical concepts like exponential growth (as when people go maskless to indoor settings and the reproduction rate of the Sars-Cov-2 pathogen rises above one) and exponential reduction (as when people follow basic protocols like mask-wearing and the reproduction rate of the Sars-Cov-2 pathogen drops below one). We see it, too, in situations where people lose their jobs but have to carry consumer debt at exorbitant interest rates. Seemingly small increments end up having huge consequences.
We can apply the same concept to feelings of well-being on social media platforms. Take Twitter for example. A tweet only gets traction to the extent that it deals in outrage. A politician says something beyond the pale so you tweet a video clip of the offending comment plus a few words about how outrageous this is and before you can say “your mama is a woke bitch” you’ve got a thousand retweets and ten thousand likes. Meanwhile, Gandhi tweets about non-violent resistance and Martin Buber posts a thread about the value of engaging one another with a loving gaze, but these tweets attract zero attention and soon the @gandhi and @martinbuber accounts wither and die.
From the very outset, programmers gamed Twitter to reward engagement that deals in outrage. Whether they mean to or not, users adjust their habits to optimize their role in the game. More likes. More retweets. And, of course, more followers. @jesus had only 12 followers. What a loser. No wonder. His message was boring. Love one another? Give me a fucking break.
It may not seem like a big deal. A few “idiot” and “moron” comments scattered throughout a day’s posts. What difference could that make? But scale that up by the number of daily active Twitter users (206 million at the beginning of 2022) and these seemingly insignificant expressions of disgust and outrage take on a force of their own. They become our cultural norm.
But as with reproduction rates below one, it is possible to reverse a trend. Don’t like or retweet posts that fuel further outrage. Don’t follow people except as they deal in kindness. Post images that make you feel happy. Promote a different economy of social exchange.
