So What Now? Lessons and Actions
Last night, sometime between rolling over in bed and waking up, I distinctly remember hearing the sound of a loud engine overhead. In my dreams, I translated that engine to a fighter pilot being deployed. I woke up wondering if the U.S. had either declared war or joined an existing one.
Turns out it was a flight-to-life helicopter.
I didn’t watch the news yesterday, but I did glimpse a picture of tech industry leaders smiling and sitting in front of the cabinet. After skimming my feed, I changed my Bluesky timeline back to cat pictures, instead.
I don’t know what’s going to happen with absolute certainty in the next four years. I don’t think any of us do. What I take with me, now, are the lessons I’ve been privileged to learn.
Not only have we recently lived through political and economic uncertainty, we’ve also survived a pandemic. Many of us have changed—either by necessity or by choice. Some of us, did not.
Perhaps, however, the two most valuable lessons I’ve learned are the two I’m sharing with you today. I’m certain, if you’re reading this newsletter, that you’ve already learned them yourself. I hope these observations remind you of your wisdom and your value. For, none of us are alone.
The First Lesson
Our technology is engineered to trigger my emotions and illicit a specific response. That response might be a share, like/favorite, review, comment, click, purchase, sign-up, etc. These responses are treated as a vote for that content which, in turn, signals the algorithm saying that content should be prioritized.
Without the constant influence of online content, political opinions and beliefs typically follow a standard bell curve. Though the definitions of beliefs vary from culture to culture, statistically there is a mean distribution of belief. The adoption of the Internet, however, has led to polarization.
To help you visualize this, I’ve created three charts to illustrate this shift. This is what the normal distribution of political beliefs and opinions were in the mid-1990s.
This second graph depicts an anecdote. It’s a type of societal perception that centrist beliefs still exist regardless of algorithmic influence. In my experience, the lack of awareness regarding how the algorithm manipulates content affects whether or not people believe that it influences belief.
This last graph highlights what actually happens. The centrist views are depressed, because people’s political values shift to the far-left or far-right. In our current state, the U.S. is now depicted by two, opposing extremes. In other words: regardless of the perception that the U.S. has now embraced the far right, people who hold opposing views exist in significant numbers.
You can also dive a bit deeper into the data science, if you prefer, by visiting Pew Research’s graph on US political polarization.
The lesson? You have power over your engagement.
Recognizing and graphing these extremes, I’ve taken the following actions to clear my head so I can make better choices. Thus far, it’s been working:
Set my primary feed (BlueSky) to cat pictures
Prioritize social interactions online in select communities
Limit scrolling on social media
Monitor how/when/who I get my news from
Don’t actively read or watch news sites
Decreasing my online content consumption over the past couple of months has enabled me to regain a sense of perspective and focus. Now, I ask myself: Does this content have value? If so, why? And, in doing so, I am regaining my ability to choose how I shape my beliefs and what actions I take.
The Second Lesson
For those of you who’ve known me for a very long time, you’re aware I’ve been through a lot in the last 10 years. Not saying that to minimize anyone else’s experiences or re-emphasize my past—for we all have been through some shit. The reason why I bring it up, is because the experiences and the lessons I’ve learned have shaped Present Me in ways I did not expect.
So, here’s the lesson: You are valuable.
If you’re in the US, you live in a metaphorical warzone filled with battles for your resources—and not just money. Your time and your opinions are so valuable our technology has literally been designed to capture and affect them both. Your skills are so, so precious new forms of technology are being designed to replicate them more cheaply without human interaction. Your vote is so valuable, millions of dollars are spent every day to affect not only how you vote but how it will be counted.
Again: You are valuable.
What am I doing about these lessons? I am treating myself as the architect of my life. I am going to live it to the best of my ability, no matter who is in office, and I choose how. I choose how to live, how to help, how to engage, how to be. I choose to live my life, regardless. YOLO.
I hope you and yours are doing the same. No matter what comes. For you are valuable.
And, you are not alone.