own political territory afterwards.[25] On average, Republicans
became more conservative and Democrats more liberal. This isn’t
quite the same as the ‘backfire effect’ we saw in Chapter 3, because
people weren’t having specific beliefs challenged, but it does imply
that reducing political polarisation isn’t as simple as creating new
online connections. As in real life, we may resent being exposed to
views we disagree with.[26] Although having meaningful face-to-face
conversations can help change attitudes – as they have with
prejudice and violence – viewing opinions in an online feed won’t
necessarily have the same effect.
I ’ itself that can create conflict; it’s also
the context surrounding it. Online, we come across many ideas and
communities we may not encounter much in real life. This can lead to
disagreements if people post something with one audience in mind,
only to have it read by another. Social media researcher danah boyd
(she styles her name as lower case) calls it ‘context collapse’. In real
life, a chat with a close friend may have a very different tone to a
conversation with a co-worker or stranger: the fact that our friends
know us well means there’s less potential for misinterpretation. Boyd
points to events like weddings as another potential source of face-to-
face context collapse. A speech that’s aimed at friends could leave
family uncomfortable; most of us have sat through a best man’s
anecdote that has made this mistake and misfired. But while
weddings are (usually) carefully planned, online interactions may
inadvertently include friends, family, co-workers, and strangers all in
the same conversation. Comments can easily be taken out of context,
with arguments emerging from the confusion.[27]
According to boyd, underlying contexts can also change over time,
particularly as people are growing up. ‘While teens’ content might be
public, most of it is not meant to be read by all people across all time
and all space,’ she wrote back in 2008. As a generation raised on
social media grows older, this issue will come up more often. Viewed
out of context, many historical posts – which can linger online for
decades – will seem inappropriate or ill-judged.