When searching for an appropriate definition of “outrage culture” online, I came across this one by Reddit user headless_bourgeoisie in /r/OutOfTheLoop:
Outrage Culture refers to the idea that a large number of people in “western” society seem to crave being offended and actively seek out things that will offend them and create controversy where there is none (presumably in an effort to claim the figurative “moral high ground”). This is perhaps a product of the social media age since everyone with an internet connection now has a potentially gigantic audience for their opinions. “Clickbait” sites like Buzzfeed and Jezebel perpetuate this phenomenon by jumping on any controversy, no matter how flimsy, in order to amass precious website traffic.
People across the political spectrum have been guilty of participating in and perpetuating outrage culture (my personal favorite–if you can call it that–is still Hannity fans destroying their own Keurig coffee makers in support of an alleged child molester). What I find interesting is headless_bourgeoisie’s point that this is a product of the “social media age.” I think outrage culture has in some sense been around for a much longer time, but it has flourished in the broader Internet culture of the 2000s and 2010s. Social media is a hotbed for perpetuating this culture of outrage, because “outraged” people will like, share, and comment more than their calmer counterparts. This creates the infamous comments sections that ferment beneath practically anything on the Internet, and it also serves to stifle real conversation, as many people have noted before.
Expressing your outrage at a real or perceived injustice is a natural way we try to show our Facebook friends or Twitter followers that we belong in the ideological tribe we’ve chosen. It’s also a nice form of catharsis. As Christians, we have a moral obligation to oppose injustice and speak up when we see it (check out this article for some highlights of this in Quaker history). However, I believe we also have an obligation to do so in love and in a way that will not just oppose injustice, but promote the loving, restorative justice of Godde.
When I see an article about the last thing the President did or said, I need to question my motivations for reading it and evaluate my response once I do. I generally don’t share or repost a lot on social media, but on platforms like Twitter I like a lot of tweets that often are perpetuating outrage culture, and I know my followers can see that I like them. So, I have come up with some questions to ask myself before engaging with a post on social media, including whether I assimilate that perception of the world into my own, which is often more dangerous and insidious than merely liking or sharing a post.
- Rhetorical analysis of the headline or blurb of the content: what emotional response is it trying to get from me? What basic assumptions of mine is it playing to?
- What is the effect of this news, etc., on real people? Is that effect unjust? If I am not sure, what more information do I need?
- What are other (reasonable) responses to this content? Is there a place for me to contribute to the conversation to better understand others participating in it?
- If this content is about an injustice, what can I best do to directly promote justice? Is it responding in love to others in the conversation? Is it looking for ways to donate or volunteer for a cause? What can I do that will have a real effect on victims of injustice?
Obviously, I don’t methodically go through these questions for every post I see on Facebook. Instead, I try to keep these types of questions present in my mind as I am engaging in social media, and it has helped me to try and respond more lovingly. I know that participating in outrage culture is one of my weaknesses that I am constantly succumbing to, but acknowledging that is the first step on my journey to love.
With this in mind, my next post will focus on how people in tech can work to circumvent our current propensity towards outrage culture through humane design and development.
Quakers in Tech 