Session 3 – Online behaviours part 2
Session 3 – Online behaviours part 2 explores ‘us and them’ mentality, the mentality that divides the world into a negatively viewed, stereotyped out-group (them), and a positively viewed in-group (us). Divisions can be based across a wide range of identities such as race, religion, gender, class, nationality, and political views. Differences are often projected through the use of stereotyping, and all members of the out-group are characterised as the same.
This tactic is often used to polarise people, both online and in real life, forcing individuals into a binary of the content creator’s own making. The out-group is often blamed for the problems experienced by the in-group, and this is used to strengthen the way the in-group views themselves.
The division into ‘us’ and ‘them’ has existed throughout human society. It is present in sports, politics, and even where we live in a town or city. When it is deployed for negative means it becomes a powerful weapon which can negatively impact community cohesion and generate hatred within our societies.
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