“The biggest casualty of the decade was trust.” “ #Socialmedia , which came into its own in the 2010s, accelerated the filter bubble effect further, as algorithms designed to maximize user “engagement” (& therefore maximize ad revenues) fed people customized data & ads that tended to reinforce their existing beliefs / interests.” “This is why Republicans/Democrats, conservatives/liberals, have trouble even agreeing upon shared facts — a development that has undermined trust between different groups, fueled incivility + sped up the niche-ification of culture that began years ago with cable tv + internet.” “platforms #Facebook #Twitter #Instagram have enabled politicians (as well as advertisers, Russian agents and alt-right conspiracy theorists) to circumvent gatekeepers like the mainstream media and reach out directly to voters.” “‘Influencers’ replaced experts, scientists and scholars; memes and misinformation started to displace facts.” “As the news cycle spun faster and faster, our brains struggled to cope with the flood of data and distraction that endlessly spilled from our phones.” …see more