Does the Internet unite us or solidify the divide/ create more tribalism?

The internet solidifies us into distinct groups divided by interests, ideologies and every other mechanism of division at the same time often uniting us in spite of them.

I think the way the internet is utilized is a direct reflection of those who use it. The entire spectrum of humanity is represented, from unfettered fatuity to remarkable genius to utter psychopathy. We tend toward our nature, whatever form that takes. 

I don't think its reasonable to count on the internet to teach things such as tolerance, or to alter thinking on other topics IF that person/user isn't specifically seeking to learn it. The internet is a fabulous tool, but a wrench in the hand of a baboon doesn't make him a mechanic. This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at March 11, 2017 7:49 PM MST

Before the internet the fringe charismatics had a hard road to spread their philosophies and find the small spatterings of like minded people sprinkled lightly across the globe.
With the internet those fringe charismatics have been able to reach out through video and social media to unite those small spatterings of people to create seemingly large cults of personality.  When people come across them they see that they have amassed a million followers or listeners.   That has the effect of making it seem like the ideas are very common and commonly shared.  Thing is though a million people sprinkled around the globe is a small movement.  What we are seeing is  a culture and nation building that does not have geographical or centralized grouping, but only exists through the keyboard and computer screen.  Tribes of people that have no real world connection or interaction with each other,   but organize in these online groups outside of there real world communities.  It's causing a withdraw from the community they actually live in and the area they are in to wage culture wars in  a virtual realm that doesn't exist in the tangible sense.
 Why work hard to create unity and function with the people around you when it's easier to skip compromise and express yourself with this smattering of people that are one here and two there?  Five way, way over there.  It's more satisfying to the ego divide ourselves in the real world with the people around us than it is to compromise and reach real solutions with differing people right out our door.

While it can be very satisfying and has a theraputic value,   it is also a terrifying new reality that is wreaking havoc on true progress and solutions to our differences.  It is creating more isolation and division while creating a false sense of unity.    Strange and dangerous times it is.

That's how I feel about that.

It is all up to us.

We can use the internet to find Identically thinking people and build our own 'utopia' on the web, effectively 'protecting' ourselves against other input than what we have already accepted and believe. We do not need the web to do do this it has already happened many times through history. in different cultures, etc. There are even social convention that have evolved to keep such groups separate from eachother and 'true' to the groups ideals. It usually involve having specially trained spokespersons to be the only ones who ever talk to 'outsiders', historically this most often happened in military groups or in monastic orders where some 'strong' abbot/abbess protected 'his'/'her' monks/nuns.

The Hippies of the 1960es had splinter groups like that, large communes with members that had essentially no interaction with society at large. Those usually fell apart after a while but they were 'trying' ;-) some of the many Christian denominations that have arisen since the reformation likewise keep themselves isolated and free of the 'pollution' from all the others. Usually they gradually dwindle and disappear. Sometimes even explosively, like Jamestown. Others have been more successful at it like the Amish and the JV's.

Actually the Web is probably the worst place to do it, even though such groups exist and even thrive they are hampered by the fact that each member has to have his or her 'real life' on the side in order to pay for food and internet connection ;-))

It truly depends on the personalities in your group.  I have found I can coexist very nicely with people of different ideology if they tend to be polite, respectful, and can laugh at themselves. 

In the right place, I do feel more bonded with people. 

In the wrong place, I can feel very alienated.  

At first glance I like Mark Manson, his "10 Things Most Americans Don’t Know About America" are well chosen and well expressed.
Still a bit vary though ;-))

American physician Rachel Remen ran a hospice for dying patients. A remarkable woman, she helped them in many ways. In her book, Kitchen Table Wisdom, she wrote of an elderly Jew who had survived the Nazi concentration camps. He was a troubled man and had trouble relating to the very friendly atmosphere that prevailed in the hospice. 

One day he said, "Rachel, I am walking by the water this morning, and I say to God, 'Is it all right for me to be hugging all these strangers?' And God, he says to me, 'What is this strangers, Yitshak? You make the strangers. I don't make the strangers.'"

I think the Internet is like that. We ourselves choose whether to unite or to gather into cliques. AnswerMug is a microcosm which allows us to be individuals or to huddle in groups. It's a little like a cloudy sky on a windy day: the clouds meet and make shapes, then separate and make more. In a very real sense, aM is a virtual Rorschach test. We make of it what we will.

It does both, in different ways, I think.  

Though in the most tangible sense - that of face-to-face relationships - especially within families and communities, it often is far more divisive.  When you see an entire family sitting in a room together, each engrossed in their own phone or laptop (which I have), you see just how far apart people can become because of the internet.  It is the same in many communities today, as well.  Everyone seems to spend more time inside and less time interacting with neighbors.  Some are too busy checking or posting on FB or Twiiter when they are out and about to even notice the people they pass throughout the day.

I know many who use the internet and sites like FB to keep in touch with family and friends who no longer live nearby.  I have seen that be very beneficial to some relationships, even bringing families closer together.  But I have also seen it tear families and friendships apart.  Sometimes people misread something posted to them online (we all know how easy that is to do), and other times people take their arguments online, airing their dirty laundry for all to see.

On the other hand, it can be a godsend to a shut-in to have people to interact with on a daily basis.  There are also those of us who form true and lasting friendships with people we would never have otherwise known.  I have met a few in person, spoken to many on the phone, and otherwise keep in touch with several I have known for years.  Sometimes these friendships, even if we never meet in person, can have a profound affect upon us.  This was twice brought home to me in a very real sense recently.  

The internet is a tool.  It is up to each of us to choose whether to use it constructively or destructively.  

JMHO

Dear Just Asking,

I am placing my chips on the upside potential of the Internet...it is the reason I spend as much time here as I do, the wholesome potential for human connection is breathtaking...even while acknowledging what Glis and others speak about.
When I found Ask.com in 2010, what they were doing was fascinating. 

Question for you: Can I import a document into my answer, say a Word file or a PDF? That people could open or not, at their option? I actually have made a list of 12 wonderful categories I have seen happen, and entranced with the possibilities global, here.

The internet is sort of a cross between a library, a shopping mall and a post office, but not so much a social center. You have to keep reminding yourself that there is a live person at the other end of your rant, and no matter who says what you are still only talking to your computer.

The internet is a tool ,like a hammer and like a hammer you can use it to build homes for the disadvantaged or hit someone on the head.
Certainly the potential (and reality) for good is there.
Doctors can exchange medical data and tests where cameras record your bodies inner workings,all transmitted almost instantaneously,and more broadly almost any media can be sent across the world; Police know that cell phones may be tracking their actions,and many jurisdictions have equipped police with their  own cameras  .

But thats the chamber of commerce viewpoint,on many social media sites users regularly insult and troll other members:instant gratification  .
As President Trump used Twitter to  first attack his predecessor,then a reality game show host.
But the www only exemplifies the feelings of anger ,despair and contention many in our society feel.
You can post yet another selfie or pictures of youthgroups doing needed community service. Peace

Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, has recently expressed concerns about the way it is going. For historical purposes, he is referred to as the creator of the web because, working as an independent contractor, he put the first website on line, which was the European Centre for Nuclear Research, CERN. The website was INFO.CERN.CH Which means it is based in Switzerland, CH being Confoederatio Helvetica. This post was edited by HarryDemon at March 13, 2017 10:02 AM MDT