"The virtual world and its system of structured rewards and treats—the likes, retweets, hearts, smiley faces, upturned thumbs, and clapping hands—become divisive because the way such rewards are earned is practically a training program for narcissism and exhibitionism."
...and...
"We...associate with people who feel as we do, and create tribes whose loyalty tests become more precise with each iteration and interaction. (Social media administrators know this. “Our algorithms exploit the human brain’s attraction to divisiveness,” an internal Facebook study admitted in 2018.) This tribalism festers into group narcissism that demands, as all narcissism does, constant reassurance—and cable news and social media are happy to provide it in exchange for attention and clicks."
...and...
"Political identities that were once constructed from life among those we know in places we live are now formed over huge distances among strangers whose bonds are formed mostly over things they loathe in common."
I'm about three quarters of the way done with Our Own Worst Enemy and it's pretty on the mark so far. Recommend.
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