In the actual, physical towns and villages where our bodies reside, we have to rub along with whoever else happens to live there. Many of them will be pricks, but we can’t murder or imprison them all, so we learn to put up with them.
Not so in our self-selecting online communities. There, we can accept only people who think similarly to ourselves – that’s why we sought each other out. We draw away from people with alternative views. We do not need to tolerate difference, so we reinforce the assumptions and values that brought us together: the celebrated echo chamber or (pre-Covid) bubble.
Beyond the mental fortifications of our cyber-citadels is the battleground, where war-bands of trolls and fascists roam.
Middle-aged Male Anorexic 