For 16 years now the Scanlon Foundation has been producing an index of social cohesion in Australia. The most recent figures came out last month and they were the worst ever recorded. Since then, cohesion has continued to fray in the wake of October 7 and the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
What’s going wrong? One factor is the ubiquitous technology that primes us for intolerance. Social media rewards strong positions and self-righteous anger. The smartphones in our pockets claim to increase our connections with “friends” but they are optimised for moral grandstanding. It’s making us lonely and miserable.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Real social cohesion comes from the slow and unglamorous work of listening to people carefully, paying them respect and giving them the benefit of the doubt.
