I sometimes wonder if this is not just the novelty of social media, but rather the new normal. ie, perhaps social media will always be this divisive? This is a very limited metaphor, but it reminds me of how a moth circles around a flame. Usually, a moth would use the Moon (or Sun) to navigate, which is focused to infinity. The flame is close by, and the way the moth's natural circuitry works causes it to malfunction. A straight line becomes an inward spiral, towards the flame.<p>The basic problems of social media are nothing new to human behavior: tribalism, moral judgement / righteousness, extremist viewpoints.<p>But I wonder if it's a bit like the moth and the flame. With so many extreme opinions from so many strangers, we begin spiraling to more extreme positions, and taking sides in a more extreme fashion. Under normal conditions extreme opinions can still exist, but they are usually tempered by contact with other people. Even when extremity existed in the past, it at least appeared to be stable over time. ie, you'd have single group with unified (albeit extreme) ideas. People are normally meant to be socially and morally judgemental. (to what degree, and about what is up for some debate, but as an animal we like to make moral judgements.) But, they're also meant to find consensus within a community. Well, the internet breaks down some of that consensus building, while also introducing and amplifying more and more extreme positions. I really wonder that like the moth, social media breaks our normal intuition for social judgement and coalition building.<p>And lastly, I wonder if it's any surprise that things seem to have gotten crazier since most have been on quarantine -- away from normal people, but glued to our screens. Maybe that's just anecdotal on my part, though.