The echo chambers of Indian Politics: How Facebook pages are ruining political discourse in the democracy
Conservatives and liberals are two broad groups in any political system. While conservatives value established social structure, respect religion and take culture as to be an authoritative source of public conduct, liberals emphasise upon individual rights, reject religion's orthodoxy and focus upon ‘liberty’ as the basis of any political society. Consequently, the two groups differ on various issues such as policy, health, secutriy and this difference becomes the basis of discourse in the system.
In recent times, the rise of internet and social media have drastically changed the way discourse takes place in democracies around the world.
Though it is true that internet has significantly transferred power in hands of people as almost everyone has access to smart phones and 4g internet (in fact, I have seen the lowest rung of society such as garbage collectors to enjoy smartphones in their hands- According to a report, 500 million people will have access to internet by June 2018), yet the establishment has been consistent in trying new and innovative methods using the same tool to contain power and control over its people. Fake news, IT cells, paid propoganda, to name a few.
This has caused remarkable effect on the nature of discourse so far. People spend more time on internet, have become more hateful, are verbally violent (sometimes even physically) and proud to have extremist ideologies.There has been a significant shift to right-wing politics all over the world. The social media has made our stereotypes stronger than ever. In India, as narrative has taken precedence over logic and argument, ‘Bhakts’( a swear word against BJP's fans who are allegedly supporting Fascism in name of Hindutava) and ‘sickulars’( a swear word against seculars who allegedly engage in minority appeasement but not stand for Hindus) are thrown on individuals like anything. This can be explained with a relatively new term used in intellectual circles-echo chambers. An echo chamber is a metaphorical description of a situation in which beliefs are amplified or reinforced by communication and repetition inside a closed system. Conservatives live in their own echo chambers; liberals live in their own echo chambers. For example, if you happen to be a conservative (BJP supporter are often identified as same), you will follow right-wing pages like Shankhnaad, The Frustrated Indian, etc. These pages keep on posting about how Hindus are unsafe, other parties are appeasing minorities and how almost every action of the BJP is justified. The comments are mostly made by the right wing followers and are anti-secular, anti-muslim, pro-BJP and most importantly hateful in nature. If you happen to be a liberal, chances are high that unless you're a journalist, you will not follow this pages for the peace of your own mind. It is not that they are spreading blatant lies (sometimes they do) but they would only tell you one side of the story and when you see such 30 posts in a day, everyday for a month, without following any 'liberal' page-as again for peace of your own mind, you're bound to become an extremist, at least virtually.
For liberals, there are pages like The Logical Indian; though these pages are not violent as the aforesaid pages but they many a times ignore the sanest of arguments of the right wing.
They are relatively more rational but in this system of echo-chambers, even they get a biased view of issues around them. Many of them would be there to stand for Muslim's rights of religion but are not so enthusiastic for Hindus rights religion. I have legit seen liberals to take Muslim deaths as communal but when Hindus die in the same communal fashion, they turn a blind eye. As if they are just human causalities and have to do nothing with religion.
Conservatives bash everyone and everything that comes in path of their 'Hindutava'. I have seen posts where people call that "Hindutava" is more important than "development" as Hindus are 'unsafe' from the minority religion especially Islam. I fail to understand that in a land of 1.4 billion, with majority accounting to Hindus , and where hunger is still the number one cause of death and where the country tops in the number of under-nourished people with a stunning 194 million people (almost seven times the total Australian population), how can Hindus be unsafe from 'Islamic' terror. If they are unsafe from anything, it is the politicians who divide them for power and do nothing for development.
The bottom-line of echo-chambers is- We listen what we want to listen.
And we are essentially not listening the other side- which is essential part of democracy. Everybody is shouting. Nobody is listening.
Also, everybody wants to win.
We nowadays choose political parties as Football clubs and would defend them to our death. Because we do not want to give up on our choices. Party has become a kind of ego-identity and we go to any lengths to prove that 'I am right and you're wrong.' We turn into loyal party advocates and defend their interests(even when they are unjust, one brilliant example being the Karnataka elections) as if we are their spokesperson. At least Sambit Patra get paid. However we instead, by downgrading the level of discourse, pay the possibility of a vibrant democracy.
In addition to this, social media politics has made us stop thinking. This is largely due to information apocalypse we are facing on a daily basis. In one second, we tap on video of a party spokesman speaking some gibberish against the government, in another, we angry react on another rape of a five year old in some part of our country. Then we scroll down for a live match score of our favourite IPL team. Following that, we heart react on a cute picture of Virat-Anushka wedding.
We're bombarding our mind with information to such an extent that everything becomes meaningless. We don't even open links to news articles and react on the mere heading and the picture on the link. Apparently because we have already made opinions even before reading the article. That article would only confirm our opinion, our biased opinion- an important feature of echo chamber. Newspapers were better in the sense that we used to read entire articles; do not get to comment mindlessly by pressing few keys of the keyboard and could not straight away accept or reject a point by heart-reacting or anger-reacting respectively.
The problem is colossal, multi-level and complex but the million dollar question is-what is the solution. We have already given ourselves a system and it is not possible to get out of it in a blow. However there are certain points of consideration around which we can think, to form our own thoughtful solutions. One, we have to first identify that there is indeed a problem. Two, we as democratic individuals have to be conscious of what are we standing for: a party or a nation. Or our own individual opinion that we once formed and are defending mindlessly. Three, we should engage ourselves in reading long essays and books about the country rather than some political page's online posts and rhetoric to understand our country's politics(This is going to be tough). Finally, we should try to learn to lose in an argument. It is an important component of any democracy but social media has destroyed it almost completely. Finally, we shall know that when we are fighting for or against a religion/party on the internet, around 200 million Indians, regardless of religion or party will go to their beds hungry tonight.
In recent times, the rise of internet and social media have drastically changed the way discourse takes place in democracies around the world.
Though it is true that internet has significantly transferred power in hands of people as almost everyone has access to smart phones and 4g internet (in fact, I have seen the lowest rung of society such as garbage collectors to enjoy smartphones in their hands- According to a report, 500 million people will have access to internet by June 2018), yet the establishment has been consistent in trying new and innovative methods using the same tool to contain power and control over its people. Fake news, IT cells, paid propoganda, to name a few.
This has caused remarkable effect on the nature of discourse so far. People spend more time on internet, have become more hateful, are verbally violent (sometimes even physically) and proud to have extremist ideologies.There has been a significant shift to right-wing politics all over the world. The social media has made our stereotypes stronger than ever. In India, as narrative has taken precedence over logic and argument, ‘Bhakts’( a swear word against BJP's fans who are allegedly supporting Fascism in name of Hindutava) and ‘sickulars’( a swear word against seculars who allegedly engage in minority appeasement but not stand for Hindus) are thrown on individuals like anything. This can be explained with a relatively new term used in intellectual circles-echo chambers. An echo chamber is a metaphorical description of a situation in which beliefs are amplified or reinforced by communication and repetition inside a closed system. Conservatives live in their own echo chambers; liberals live in their own echo chambers. For example, if you happen to be a conservative (BJP supporter are often identified as same), you will follow right-wing pages like Shankhnaad, The Frustrated Indian, etc. These pages keep on posting about how Hindus are unsafe, other parties are appeasing minorities and how almost every action of the BJP is justified. The comments are mostly made by the right wing followers and are anti-secular, anti-muslim, pro-BJP and most importantly hateful in nature. If you happen to be a liberal, chances are high that unless you're a journalist, you will not follow this pages for the peace of your own mind. It is not that they are spreading blatant lies (sometimes they do) but they would only tell you one side of the story and when you see such 30 posts in a day, everyday for a month, without following any 'liberal' page-as again for peace of your own mind, you're bound to become an extremist, at least virtually.
For liberals, there are pages like The Logical Indian; though these pages are not violent as the aforesaid pages but they many a times ignore the sanest of arguments of the right wing.
They are relatively more rational but in this system of echo-chambers, even they get a biased view of issues around them. Many of them would be there to stand for Muslim's rights of religion but are not so enthusiastic for Hindus rights religion. I have legit seen liberals to take Muslim deaths as communal but when Hindus die in the same communal fashion, they turn a blind eye. As if they are just human causalities and have to do nothing with religion.
Conservatives bash everyone and everything that comes in path of their 'Hindutava'. I have seen posts where people call that "Hindutava" is more important than "development" as Hindus are 'unsafe' from the minority religion especially Islam. I fail to understand that in a land of 1.4 billion, with majority accounting to Hindus , and where hunger is still the number one cause of death and where the country tops in the number of under-nourished people with a stunning 194 million people (almost seven times the total Australian population), how can Hindus be unsafe from 'Islamic' terror. If they are unsafe from anything, it is the politicians who divide them for power and do nothing for development.
The bottom-line of echo-chambers is- We listen what we want to listen.
And we are essentially not listening the other side- which is essential part of democracy. Everybody is shouting. Nobody is listening.
Also, everybody wants to win.
We nowadays choose political parties as Football clubs and would defend them to our death. Because we do not want to give up on our choices. Party has become a kind of ego-identity and we go to any lengths to prove that 'I am right and you're wrong.' We turn into loyal party advocates and defend their interests(even when they are unjust, one brilliant example being the Karnataka elections) as if we are their spokesperson. At least Sambit Patra get paid. However we instead, by downgrading the level of discourse, pay the possibility of a vibrant democracy.
In addition to this, social media politics has made us stop thinking. This is largely due to information apocalypse we are facing on a daily basis. In one second, we tap on video of a party spokesman speaking some gibberish against the government, in another, we angry react on another rape of a five year old in some part of our country. Then we scroll down for a live match score of our favourite IPL team. Following that, we heart react on a cute picture of Virat-Anushka wedding.
We're bombarding our mind with information to such an extent that everything becomes meaningless. We don't even open links to news articles and react on the mere heading and the picture on the link. Apparently because we have already made opinions even before reading the article. That article would only confirm our opinion, our biased opinion- an important feature of echo chamber. Newspapers were better in the sense that we used to read entire articles; do not get to comment mindlessly by pressing few keys of the keyboard and could not straight away accept or reject a point by heart-reacting or anger-reacting respectively.
The problem is colossal, multi-level and complex but the million dollar question is-what is the solution. We have already given ourselves a system and it is not possible to get out of it in a blow. However there are certain points of consideration around which we can think, to form our own thoughtful solutions. One, we have to first identify that there is indeed a problem. Two, we as democratic individuals have to be conscious of what are we standing for: a party or a nation. Or our own individual opinion that we once formed and are defending mindlessly. Three, we should engage ourselves in reading long essays and books about the country rather than some political page's online posts and rhetoric to understand our country's politics(This is going to be tough). Finally, we should try to learn to lose in an argument. It is an important component of any democracy but social media has destroyed it almost completely. Finally, we shall know that when we are fighting for or against a religion/party on the internet, around 200 million Indians, regardless of religion or party will go to their beds hungry tonight.
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