Written by Lisa Braun
The internet is a breeding ground for outrage.
If you were to take Jesus’s words in the context of modern society, I think what he meant is: “Only those who are without fault have the right to pass judgment upon others”. While I am not religious, such a phrase holds truth across time, cultures and religions. If we are honest, we need to accept that none of us is without fault, meaning that no one of us has such a right to pass judgment. So how have digital culture and social media turned into the modern days stoning grounds?
“Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” - The Gospel According to John, chapter 8, verses 3–7
If you were to take Jesus’s words in the context of modern society, I think what he meant is: “Only those who are without fault have the right to pass judgment upon others”. While I am not religious, such a phrase holds truth across time, cultures and religions. If we are honest, we need to accept that none of us is without fault, meaning that no one of us has such a right to pass judgment. So how have digital culture and social media turned into the modern days stoning grounds?
Social media has become an integral part of our lives, connecting us with people from all over the world and providing us with access to an endless stream of information and opinions. With the wealth of information comes the rise of “outrage culture.” with all this information, getting caught up in the constant cycle of outrage and negativity is easy. The issue is that it has never been easier to “throw the stone”, and it has also never been so risk-free. Anyone with a smartphone can throw the first stone and engage in bullying, verbal abuse, humiliation, and degradation. Aggressors don’t need to fear physical revenge after throwing that first digital stone. Are this impulsive anger and divisive aggression threatening to spill over from online into the offline world? Or, more alarmingly, are these online spaces just aggravating preexisting behaviour and tendencies?
Viral justice or outrage contagion?
Outrage culture is, in many ways, an online hive-mind, where a comment, point of view or opinion can become targeted by the outrage from the masses. While it can be a powerful tool to conspire and collectively rage against inequality, the flow of outrage is difficult to control consciously and seldomly benevolent.
Alex once had an experience with outrage culture. He joined a cooking show in Denmark, where he competed in making his favourite dish. However, while live on air, a twist was revealed wherein the participants were responsible for killing their own meal. They had the choice of doing it themselves or having the meat served to them without carrying out the act. Alex conducted the killing himself, and in the weeks after the show aired, he became the target of multiple comments and threats that he should suffer the same consequences as the animal he killed. Regardless of the morals here, he had triggered outrage and had to find ways to deal with this.
The outrage is caused by us becoming triggered, and once we are triggered, and we fail to notice, our reaction is out of our own control. Information overload causes us to feel triggered constantly – we experience agitation, irritation, and disharmony. We then eagerly spread these experiences to those around us. Outrage is a righteous tendency. We feel justified in our behaviour. Justified in perpetuating the cycle of unhappiness, negativity and suffering. To live peacefully and harmoniously, it’s essential to understand the root cause of our suffering: the negativity that arises in our minds when we encounter things we don’t like.
Key Ways in Which Outrage Hurts You
In short, outrage culture harms us in two key ways:
WE FEEL OUTRAGED because we encounter things we don’t like and feel it is unjust for us to feel this way.
WE TARGET OTHERS with our rage, feeling utterly just while doing so. We intentionally sow the seed of outrage in others.
In both instances, the result is, well, more outrage.
Sam Harris, a neuroscientist, philosopher, and well-known public figure, recently quit Twitter after experiencing first-hand the adverse effects of outrage culture. Harris frequently found himself outraged on the platform and inadvertently created his own personal online hell on earth. The constant exposure to oppositional opinions and ideas led him to become trapped in a cycle of anger and division, creating a toxic and hostile online environment for himself.
In a podcast episode with Andrew Huberman, he shares how he ruined entire family vacations because of some disagreement he had gotten into online, which he then had to repent. Lunacy and benevolence go hand in hand on social media platforms. To engage with anyone publicly means making oneself vulnerable to outrage – by the thousands if you have an audience like Sam Harris. This is not to credit or discredit any of Sam Harris’ opinions.
Whether his opinions are moral, immoral, left, centrist or right is not the point. He is just one of many people finding themselves trapped in an unproductive cycle of outrage. Sam Harris and many others have been using Twitter as a training ground for their outrage.
Outrage culture highlights what we feel; Outcalm culture outlines how to act
But what if there was an alternative approach to this outrage culture? Sure, we can all quit social media and remove ourselves from the triggers – but are we really tackling the issue at its root here? Simply diverting our attention away from the problem is not a long-term solution. This only pushes the negativity from the online into the offline world, where it continues to grow and may eventually explode in a violent outburst.
Imagine if there was a way to constructively move from being triggered to taking aim and hitting the target instead. Outcalm advocates creating a moment of centred consciousness in alignment with one’s intention to act. This means that triggers no longer produce unwarranted impulsive reactions.
To do this, we need to face the problem we seem to have with “not liking” and observe the negativity whenever it arises in our minds. By doing so, we can avoid suppression and expression. We learn to observe as outrage slowly withers away. To outcalm is to become an individual who approaches interactions with an open mind, engages with different perspectives, and seeks to experience the apparent problem, not make it disappear.
The challenge is to stop this blind reaction and remain peaceful even in the face of things that we dislike.
A culture of Outcalm is to avoid stupidity before seeking brilliance. Stupidity is a blind reaction. Brilliance is awareness and calm, collected observation. It’s not easy to face our own stupidity when emotions like anger quickly overwhelm us. Continually repenting after we lash out doesn’t help the situation. The key to breaking the cycle of negativity is to become aware of our thoughts and emotions as they arise and learn to observe them without judgment. This way, we can maintain peace and harmony within ourselves and create a positive and harmonious environment for those around us.
You cannot take control with a clenched fist.
Sam Harris explains the sharp present-moment awareness of unpleasant thoughts changes everything. If you picture unpleasant thoughts as thieves entering your house and causing disruption, then awareness is the spotlight revealing that these thieves have entered an empty house. There is simply nothing there to take for them.
This is easier said than done, as negative emotions can quickly overwhelm us and cause harm to ourselves and others. By observing the negativity in mind, problems and their associated emotional states begin to lose their power and eventually wither away. This avoids both extremes of suppression through distraction and the expression of outrage. To do this, we must learn to face unpleasant thoughts and use our metaphorical spotlights. You have undoubtedly heard some of this before, and you are correct.
Outcalm shares similarities with general mindfulness practice, but it is a more specific approach that focuses on addressing the issue in the moment it arises. Outcalm and mindfulness encourage individuals to be present and aware of their thoughts and emotions. Outcalm further provides a mindset to approach any interaction with others. Calmness is your competitive advantage – calmness in an instant.
In conclusion, the idea of Outcalming ourselves and others offers a valuable solution to the harmful effects of “outrage culture” on social media. By adopting the mindset of Outcalm, we can become proactive agents combatting the cycle of anger and division by promoting understanding and empathy in our interactions with others.
Are you ready to build your integral part of Outcalm?
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