As we get closer to the midterms and what is rightly being described as a critical test of this country’s democratic process, the tribalism seems to be amping up.
We just can’t stop taking shots at one another, especially on social media. And I’m not just talking about Twitter or Facebook or Instagram either. Even on those so-called friendly neighborhood social media sites, which are so good at referring a trusted babysitter or warning of coyotes in the area, there should be more Mr. Rogers and less Roger Stone.
Recent case in point from my own Nextdoor group, where a man posted about an incident between two dogs, one walked by his adult son and another by a neighbor, whose pet began growling as the two parties advanced toward each other.
It’s a scenario that probably happens a hundred or so times a day in the Fox Valley.
Nothing seemed to happen from this encounter. There was no fight. No two-legged or four-legged animals got bit.
But the user took to this neighborhood site to vent about why the other pet owner did not take his pooch across the street when it began barking at his dog that had to be forcibly held back.
Critical of the other dog walker for ignoring what was going on and continuing to travel on the same side of the street, he went on to lament that since COVID-19, there’s been an increase in insensitivity of folks who seem to have forgotten what it’s like to be neighborly and courteous.
Poor COVID. It gets blamed for pretty much everything going on in the world these days, doesn’t it?
OK. So I get why the poster might have been annoyed. But irritated enough to share it with a group of people on a social media site, where any topic these days can slide into the proverbial mud?
Yes, the post did indeed elicit empathy and/or agreement from some, which I guess is what this user was looking for. But – no surprise here – it did not sit so well with others, who questioned why the man was criticizing the response from the other owner when his own dog’s walker (a grown son) shared at least equal if not more responsibility in avoiding any confrontation.
Amazing how a post about a close encounter between two canines can turn into another sort of dog fight.
Yep, I’m talking about the political kind.
Before you could say “Howdy Neighbor!” this post became a rant about the sad state of our country and who was to blame. Racism. Sexism. Trump. The liberal left. It was all brought up.
Which led to one woman noting that how “just reading these responses is traumatizing.” And, she added, it also explains “why our country is failing.”
For sure, there were those who attempted to shine a positive light on humanity in general and the country in particular. Dogs, at this point, were long forgotten.
“Hopefully we can agree to disagree without hard feelings, name calling and just go about our daily lives,” said one man.
“Courtesy begins with ourselves.”
“Just peeps being peeps,” wrote another. “Move on and be kind.”
Solid, old-fashioned advice. So why does it seem so hard these days to follow it?
The Nextdoor app was launched in America from Silicon Valley in 2011 with the mission of – other than making mega-millions for its founders – “cultivating a kinder world where everyone has a neighborhood they can rely on.”
“The neighborhood hub for trusted connections and the exchange of helpful information, goods and services,” is how its Facebook page touts those honorable benefits.
The pandemic did seem to help its growth. Reports say the network extends into more than a quarter-million neighborhoods in 11 countries. And I have no doubt every neighborhood group is different in its reach and the types of people making up each “community.”
I put that last word in quotes because Nextdoor appears to be all over the place in how addresses are verified and how these neighborhoods are formed. A concern about privacy is just one of the arrows critics are throwing at the app that, like every other social media site, has also become a target for misinformation and a landing place for trolls, bullies and those with even more nefarious intentions.
Unfortunately, for all the good they can do, these hyperlocal sites can also bring out the worst in a society that no longer seems to have any boundaries on where – or when or how – people share their opinions or decide to vent.
Speeding, for example, is a legitimate concern in many neighborhoods. So is excessive noise at night. But what some might view as a vigilant homeowner calling out all these transgressions on social media, others see as a snoop with nothing better to do than shame or pass judgment on others.
In other words, use these sites to sell your used grill, not your soul.
One critic described this app as “weaponizing curtain-twitching,” noting that “Instead of creating community cohesion, it is fostering animosity and division.” Netflix, he went on to add, “could make a documentary about it with the tagline: Do you really know your neighbor?”
Frankly, after my brief stroll Nextdoor, I’m not so sure I even want to.
dcrosby@tribpub.com
