Class Article: "The Search for Social Identity Leads to 'Us' versus 'Them'"


When I first started reading this article, I didn't quite agree with it, I'll admit. I can recall times throughout my life where I had to seek out communities of people with similar experiences to myself in order to better understand my own identity and doing so quite literally saved my life.

But as I continued reading, I began to understand what the article was truly trying to say. It wasn't just about wanting to be with people similar to yourself but rather about much more. It's about actively seeking out communities of people who share your exact same ideas, opinions, beliefs, and ideologies for the sole purpose of remaining ignorant and stubborn. This practice can be harmful.

We see this in our everyday lives. As we're scrolling through social media, we encounter content that is specifically targeted at us over and over. Algorithms follow our viewing history and can throw content at us that will be sure to fit our interests and beliefs. While this isn't exactly an issue in moderation, it can become a problem when someone with harmful ideas refuses to open their mind to other opinions and arguments and prefers to stay trapped inside this cage of information they've created for themself.

It was interesting to read this article and notice as my views changed the deeper I got into the reading. After reading this article, I feel like I have a deeper understanding of the concept of global populism and the impact that it can have on social identity and the issues that can arise from it.

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