# Social Media Weakened Institutions [[Social Media Gave Birth to Fake News]] and [[Social Media Caused Extreme Polarization in Society and Cancel Culture|caused extreme polarization and cancel culture]], and by doing so helped spread skepticism and distrust of institutions controlled by 'the other side'. When people believe institutions are biased and corrupt, because the other side is simply evil, those institutions lose legitimacy. ![[Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid#^0h0jel]] Social media has weakened both governmental and non-governmental institutions by instilling fear in the minds of its workers of losing their jobs for slight deviations from the extreme ideological norms. ![[Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid#^xrzwkx]] In the case of private business it is argued that employers are within their rights to 'cancel' opinions they disagree with, but what kind of culture does that create if not one where people are self-censoring out of fear of losing their jobs? As a society, how can we expect critical thinking when people are afraid to express their opinions? ![[Greg Lukianoff Cancel Culture, Deplatforming, Censorship & Free Speech#^2ulujm]] Out of fear of being cancelled, administrators are changing curriculums and pressuring teachers to censor classical literature to shield students from outdated ideas.[^1] This undermines the very purpose of education: to foster critical thinking. By freely exposing students to different ideas and societal norms, schools help facilitate civilized debate about where our society should go next. Instead, by allowing cancel culture into classrooms, we are turning them into [[Echo Chambers]]. ![[Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid#^i4fvv3]] [^1]: [[Should We Cancel Aristotle - The New York Times]], [[Odyssey Banned for Violence, Sexism; Is This the End of World Classics]]