Society has never rid itself of divided worldviews, and it is unlikely ever going to. Worse still, it is reaching a historic high: rapid developments of the 21st century serve as a perfect breeding ground for extreme ideological division in a way unlike any other periods in history. Radical transformations of technology is evident in news distribution, making disseminating information, especially biased ones, much cheaper and easier. Furthermore, recent generations are often challenged by a reality that conflicts with their assumptions, which can ignite radicalism capable of mass destruction, such as theVirginia Tech Shooting.
Drastic technological developments in the 21st century also revolutionizes news distribution, particularly biased ones. Mainstream media suffered grossly from the emergence of non-traditional sources such as blogs and social media. Forced to adapt, they closed many of their local offices and moved to more centralized headquarters. In doing so, they lost touch with rural populations and conservatives. They no longer understand their needs, their fears and their motivations. When the media stopped listening to the rural heartlands, the urbanites also lost any resource to understand them too. This creates division. On the other hand, non-traditional sources run on algorithms designed to please. Videos on platforms like Youtube are recommended based on personal preferences, each new video streamed feeds into a growing confirmation bias. Moreover, the media became more social. Information is issued out everywhere, aggregated, vetted and shared through balkanized tribes of like-minded individuals who hate to be told they’re wrong. In ways such as these, progression of technology has enabled an easier fabrication of ‘truths’ tailored to each individual’s taste, aggregating the division of worldviews.
Discrepancies between personal beliefs and reality likely leads to radicalism, which is particularly common among generation Y and Z. Nietzsche was able to predict this in 1882, when he proposed a “God is dead” hypothesis: Enlightenment had done away with the societal need for God, a machination that provides the meaning of life. When this void of values and meanings are left unfilled, consequences follow. There are two paths. The first, a slipping into existential nihilism, where they will be forever trapped in the meaninglessness of existence, and suicide being considered the most humane choices. It has a striking resemblance with mass school shootings. Often committed by adolescent males who experienced ostracism from their culture, most of whom elect to commit suicide with their deed. An instance is the 23-year-old Seung-Hui Cho responsible for the Virginia Tech Shooting in 2007. The second path is to place the order God gave to man with pathological ideologies. With the rise of identitarian movements like Social Justice Warriors, Antifa and the Alt-Right, Nietzsche again proved his prediction eerily accurate. A lack of belief often drives younger generations into desperation, prompting the rise of radicalism, a most dividing system of belief.
In conclusion, people’s perspectives of the world seem more uniquely divided than ever largely due to the rapid developments of the 21st century. It is fuelled by both radical transformations of technology and a desperate need for personal beliefs particularly present in younger generations. Division appears to be a deeply-rooted concept that the society is unlikely to be devoid of.
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