Submission + - The Problem With #MeToo and Viral Outrage (wired.com)
mirandakatz writes: #MeToo has the makings of an earnest and effective social movement: It’s galvanizing women and trans people everywhere to speak out about harassment and abuse. But as Jessi Hempel writes at Backchannel, the meme is too perfect. “It harnesses social media’s mechanisms to drive users (that’s you and me) into escalating states of outrage while exhausting us to the point where we cannot meaningfully act. In other words, #MeToo—despite the best intentions of so many participating—is everything that’s wrong with social media.” Drawing upon recent research from Yale assistant professor Molly Crockett, Hempel argues that outrage inspires sharing, which causes all of us to spend more time engaged with the platform—and that translates directly to revenue for the companies. Any meme this perfect should give us pause.