National Geographic

EMBARK | THE BIG IDEAThe internet is a particularly volatile place of late.Aggression on social media has reached such a pin-nacle of acrimony that some U.S. House membersproposed designating an annual “National Day ofCivility.” The proposal drew civil responses—but alsotweets and posts of wrath, ridicule, and profanity.Is this aggression on social media giving us aglimpse of human nature, one in which we are, atour core, nasty, belligerent beasts?No.It’s true that hate crimes are on the rise, politicaldivisions are at record heights, and the level of vitriolin the public sphere, especially online, is substantial.But that’s not because social media has unleashed abrutish human nature.In my work as an evolutionary anthropologist, I’vespent years researching and writing about how, overthe past two million years, our lineage transformedfrom groups of apelike beings armed with sticks andstones to the creators of cars, rockets, great artworks,nations, and global economic systems.How did we do this? Our brains got bigger, and ourcapacities for cooperation exploded. We’re wired towork together, to forge diverse social relationships,and to creatively problem-solve together. This is theinheritance that everyone in the 21st century carries.I would argue that the increase in online aggres-sion is due to an explosive combination of this humanevolutionary social skill set, the social media boom,and the specific political and economic context inwhich we find ourselves—a combination that’sopened up a space for more and more people to fanthe flames of aggression and insult online.``````LET ME EXPLAIN. We’ve all heard the diet-consciousaxiom “You are what you eat.” But when it comesto our behavior, a more apt variation is “You arewhom you meet.” How we perceive, experience,and act in the world is intensely shaped by who andwhat surround us on a daily basis—our families,communities, institutions, beliefs, and role models.These sources of influence find their way even intoour neurobiology. Our brains and bodies constantlyundergo subtle changes so that how we perceive theworld plays of of, and maps to, the patterns of thosepeople and places we see as most connected to us.This process has deep evolutionary roots and giveshumans what we call a shared reality. The connectionbetween minds and experiences enables us to share``````HOW WE EXPERIENCE THE WORLDIS INTENSELY SHAPED BY WHOAND WHAT SURROUND US ON ADAILY BASIS. TODAY THAT CANINCLUDE MORE VIRTUAL, SOCIALMEDIA FRIENDS THANPHYSICAL ONES.``````How—and why—are Americanadults abusing one another on theinternet? In 2017 the Pew ResearchCenter crunched the numbers.In a study of some 4,000 people,four out of 10 said they’d beensubjected to harassing behav-ior. Politics was the issue mostlikely to trigger the harassment:About a third of those who’d beenattacked—Democrats and Repub-licans equally—said it was due totheir political beliefs. More thanhalf those who’d been harassedsaid they didn’t know the perpe-trator’s identity; nearly nine out of10 said the anonymity online pro-vides cover for vicious and harassingbehavior. Among the adults polled,slightly less than a third said theyresponded or took some sort ofaction when witnessing someonebeing harassed online, and slightlymore than a third said they madeno response. —NINA STROCHLIC``````Lobbing hostilelanguage online``````HOW EASY IS IT to hurl anonymous insults onsocial media? As visualized by artist Javier Jaén,it’s as easy as if a brawny catapult were flingingan egg—in this case, the blue egg that wasTwitter’s original default anonymous avatar.The aim was to express “hate in the internetera, especially on the social network of the bluebird,” Jaén says. “I’m already waiting for theTwitter trolls to criticize the image.”EMBARK | THE BIG IDEA18 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC