The western world over the last five years has gone through a bruising period of division and much of the blame can be put down to the way social media works.

Much like the news, it appears that a lot of the things that cause the most response and reaction is outrage and anger. Thus what is amplified is a downward spiral of disinformation and hatred.

I think the social media companies can do much more to tackle this, and whilst we agitate for those changes, it is worth reflecting on how we as individuals can adopt a way to online interaction that is more responsible.

Lefties, Right wing, Snowflake, Gammon, Woke – all of these terms achieve essentially nothing in developing a productive conversation that promotes respectful debate. It becomes a battle of ‘us and them’. You look beyond your feed and in reality, it’s easy to realise that we (as in humans) share a lot more in common.

Even if viewpoints are polar opposite – the approach of ‘we’ or ‘us’ is a much better way to come to an understanding with what our values and desires are, and explore the possibilities available to us.

It is much better to emphasise and treat each other with respect and dignity than point fingers.