People think online platforms are overflowing with toxic and misleading content, but the reality is far calmer. A small group of highly active users creates most of the harm, while the majority remain relatively civil. Still, many Americans assume the worst about each other because of this imbalance. Correcting that belief can noticeably improve how people feel about society.
The Internet wasn’t really like this before engagement-boosting algorithms took over. The ragebait got more engagement, so it got promoted and now it’s all we see.
That being said I still don’t like people in the real world but that has nothing to do with internet trolls and everything to do with people.