By Pamela Chambers, M.Ed., N.B.C.C.
www.pamelachambers.com
The Internet is Breaking Us
The single biggest factor behind the breakdown of civility, trust, and social norms is the internet. Public discourse didn’t truly begin to unravel until the late 2000s — around the time smartphones and social media became people’s main source of news.
When algorithms entered the picture, everything changed.
Platforms began feeding users content engineered to be addictive — emotionally charged, provocative, and impossible to ignore. This wasn’t meant to inform, but to trigger fight-or-flight responses and keep people glued to their screens.
A Society on Edge
Two decades later, we are more divided, distrustful, and isolated than ever.
Many young people grow up in social media echo chambers, exposed to just one worldview, delivered with urgency and outrage. When they encounter different perspectives in classrooms or workplaces, they often don’t engage — they react. Not with curiosity, but with hostility.
When Speech Turns Deadly
Charlie Kirk was recently killed.
His speech was often provocative — such as saying, “If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, ‘Boy, I hope he’s qualified.’” He later clarified he believes anyone, regardless of race, can be qualified.
Rachel Maddow and others on the left have made similarly incendiary remarks. Why? Because outrage gets views — and algorithms know it sells.
Let’s be clear: No one should be killed for their speech.
Social media platforms are designed to elevate this kind of rhetoric. And once amplified, it spreads like wildfire — with real-world consequences.
The Silent Failure of Universities
Universities haven’t helped.
Rather than teaching students to think critically, debate respectfully, and listen openly, many institutions avoid conflict. Professors keep their heads down instead of guiding students through the hard conversations that democracy demands.
This leaves a generation unprepared to face opposing views — and quick to label them as threats.
Scott Galloway’s “Three-Legged Stool” of Crisis
Author and professor Scott Galloway describes this societal unraveling as a three-legged stool:
1. Algorithms That Profit from Rage
Rage now sells better than sex. Social platforms keep us online by fueling anger and division, distracting us from real crises — climate change, inequality, war.
2. Young Men in Crisis
Many young men face economic struggles, social isolation, and a lack of male role models. With underdeveloped prefrontal cortices and minimal support, they unravel — like dogs left in cages too long. The internet becomes their outlet.
3. Easy Access to Guns
In the U.S., unlike most developed nations, disaffected young men have access to firearms. That multiplies the risk.
Perspective: The UK sees about 30 gun deaths per year.
The U.S. averages 120 per day.
Since Charlie Kirk’s murder two days ago, America has had 8x more gun deaths than the UK will all year.
The Radicalization Pipeline
Had Kirk’s killer grown up in a pre-2008 world — without radicalizing content and without access to guns — he might still be in college today.
Instead, his life is over. Kirk’s life is gone. And the story is tragically familiar: young men radicalized online, funneled through a pipeline run by five powerful, unregulated American tech companies.
Solutions: Reform and Responsibility
If we want to stop political violence — and prevent something worse — we must strengthen democracy.
Strong democracies don’t descend into chaos. After WWII and the civil rights movement, the U.S. experienced decades of relative peace and prosperity.
We know what needs to be done:
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✅ End gerrymandering
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✅ Reform the Senate
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✅ Eliminate the Electoral College
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✅ Get big money out of politics
But even when Democrats controlled all three branches in 2020, they failed to act. Today, neither party seems willing — Democrats lack unity; Republicans benefit from the gridlock.
Identity Politics and Division
Even if Republicans under Trump tried to expand their base, they’d risk alienating the white nationalist faction currently anchoring their coalition. That’s the problem with identity-based politics — it entrenches division instead of building coalitions.
The Immediate Fix: Regulate the Algorithms
The most urgent and achievable solution?
Regulate social media algorithms.
The five largest tech companies in the world are American. They are virtually unregulated — and their platforms are radicalizing users, eroding democracy, and amplifying hate around the world.
Politicians must:
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Say no to Big Tech campaign money
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Stand up to corporate lobbying
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Protect children and teens from digital manipulation
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Break the cycle of division, rage, and despair
A Better Future Is Still Possible
We owe it to the next generation to build a society that is:
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More united
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More hopeful
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More peaceful
Let’s not hand them a world that is increasingly fractured, hate-filled, and violent.
by: Pamela Chambers, M.Ed., N.B.C.C.
www.pamelachambers.com
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