Kamala or Trump. Democratic or Republican. Pro-choice or Pro-life. As campaigning for the 2024 presidential election reaches its end, society is left more polarized than ever before. With over 81% of citizens contending that the country is more disjointed than united, it’s not all too surprising that politics has reared its way into various endeavors: literature, sports and even mainstream media. 

The one place it has yet to appear? Conversation. Whether it be at school, family dinners, or even casual discourse with colleagues, talking about the state of our government has long been the elephant stomping through rooms of public interaction. We’ve collectively deemed it rude to speak on the issue and have repeatedly condemned those who do anything but accept the status quo. 

“We’re so conditioned to not talk about politics that when people actually do, it blindsides me. I’ve been trying to deliberately have those talks with my friends and my siblings, but it doesn’t come naturally,” senior Jamie Tiemeier said.

Though some may say this has become the norm to avoid conflict and confrontation — a product of too many lively debates gone wrong — we’ve instead grown accustomed to pushing disagreements under the rug and placing a lid on an already overflowing pot to maintain peace. The unintended consequence that has emerged is the reason that the power of democracy as we know it is currently in jeopardy; from a country built off of the voices and perspectives of diversity to a reality where over half of the population censors political beliefs around one another, our progress over the past 248 years has been retroactive, thus detrimental to our future as a united nation.

The ramifications that come about from this are three-fold. First, we create a society that doesn’t know how to have hard conversations with one another. Generations upon generations have instilled the habit of staying silent, so much so that those who want to go against the tide don’t know how to within the status quo. Gen Z is on track to be the most politically involved demographic in quite some time, however; without a safe outlet, knowledge of respectful discourse or the ability to separate a person from their views, we turn opportunities for progress into toxic spaces that turn people away from public forums.

An absence of the aforementioned space is a primary cause of the second implication to come forth. Living in one of, if not, the most prominent ages of technology where over 5 billion people consider themselves social media users, echo chambers have increasingly become one of the most dangerous aspects of being online. Users are sent down rabbit holes propagating a party’s view while censoring content related to the other — now, how do platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook figure out which side to advertise? The answer lies in the algorithms the apps use to track individuals’ interests through likes, saves and shares. All it takes is rewatching a video or sending a photo to a friend to prescribe susceptible minds to potentially harmful media that could have detrimental effects on their political views, broader worldview and mental health.

“I clicked on a [post] my friend reposted on Instagram; then, all of a sudden, I saw so much content about the election from [that side]. I didn’t interact with any other posts so it cleared up pretty quickly, but it’s super easy to get caught up in one topic and stay focused on it,” senior Rachel Brazier said. “I can see how it could be dangerous, and it worries me because so many young people are online and look at things that could lead them down the wrong path.”

Echo chambers are especially hurtful to the growth of open conversations as they allow hate speech, cyberbullying and fake rhetoric. When one person is overwhelmingly surrounded by one view, they adopt it as their own without clear rationale and that’s precisely the issue society faces. The solution isn’t to keep everyone away from technology, however; online platforms have the potential to foster productive conversation where a large variety of perspectives can find a middle ground. An easy fix may come from limiting the intensity to which algorithms impact what we consume or even utilizing the programs in different ways. But in the short run, the most feasible way to avoid being caught in a social media trap is to know it’s happening in the first place which, once again, stems from having genuine interactions with our youth regarding these things.

The third and final consequence to be aware of is just how far polarization has impacted society. An outcome of the two former effects, the divide that has plagued the country’s political landscape for decades is nearly the worst it has ever been. Due to our avoidance of face-to-face interactions, people can resort to hiding behind screens to confront those with varying opinions; we dehumanize those across the aisle in an attempt to validate our own views. 

Constantly viewing others as the enemy is a breeding ground for more conflict, divide and stalemates such as the ones that have littered Congress for years now. We cannot see change until we learn to collaborate, cooperate and compromise. Current officials have realized the issue, implementing a different approach derived from the future: future voters, future candidates and future policy. Teaching our youth to respectfully partake in their environment is vital to the success of our nation. We have the capacity to change the direction United States politics goes in, all it takes is being open to having a talk.