The morning after Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting, I was startled by the flood of postings from relatives and friends on my social media feed. I had only a vague idea who he was, but his wide following became clear. What transpired online after his death revealed the deep chasm that runs through society today.
One person shared that they had casually mentioned Kirk’s name at a dinner table, only to discover friends on the opposite side of the divide. That conversation may have caused lasting damage to their relationship.
The impact of the digital world on our lives is real, and we must recognise its potential for destruction. It is essential to understand how digital media works and its impact on us.
Digital media is owned by billionaires — some of whom became rich because we give them our time and attention, while others have bought platforms to influence political discourse. Attention, engineers are employed to design technologies that capture and manipulate us. Their strategies are deliberate: highly engaging, often addictive, and usually driven by outrage.
Personalised algorithms pull us into media bubbles — and collectively into tribes of like-minded people. News has never been entirely unbiased, but today it is virtually unregulated and often unscrupulous. Platform owners have not been held accountable, even as they deliberately divide us for profit. Combine this with artificial intelligence, which makes it increasingly difficult to know whether what we read is real. We end up living in opposing universes — sometimes even with our closest family and friends.
Of course, the chasm between people is not a new phenomenon. We can find many examples of persecution for beliefs – my own Protestant ancestors escaped being burnt at the stake by fleeing to South Africa. What has changed is that digital media now reaches into every home and every pocket.
This matters because if we don’t understand how digital media works, we will drift further into these alternative universes. What we consume will reinforce our views, seldom challenge them, and quietly shape our beliefs — about every aspect of our lives, including our financial decisions.
Even moderate consumption affects our emotional state. Unchecked, it leaves us unsettled and enraged.
We must learn to push back. Actively seeking alternative viewpoints is one strategy. Reflecting on how the media affects our emotions is another. But most importantly, we need to block out time away from the digital world and return to the real one. Our well-being requires connection with real people and nature.
Perhaps Charlie Kirk’s death can be a marker in history — the moment you decide how you will allow your time and attention to be used.
Ps: I love to hear your comments. If you are not on our mailing list, you can subscribe to receive this blog every week on our website www.foundationsa.com.
Kind regards,
Sunél