BBB 2025
Detecting the Symptoms of Destructive Polarisation: The Practice Mapping Approach
Axel Bruns
- 12 June 2025 – Bots Building Bridges workshop, Bielefeld
Presentation Slides
Abstract
In the absence of hard empirical evidence for the existence of genuine echo chambers, our focus must necessarily shift to polarisation as a major driver of societal divisions: the core problem in the contemporary landscape of public debate is not that people no longer encounter counter-attitudinal information and perspectives, but that perceived or actual polarisation between political and social groups undermines meaningful debate and consensus-building between opposing groups. Even the apparently straightforward concept of polarisation must be further developed, however: clear distinctions between competing issue and ideology positions can be productive if they enable citizens and decision-makers to choose their preferred course of action, but such agonistic competition can turn into antagonistic division once one or more sides of a debate abandon their commitment to engaging with their opponents, and to working towards consensus or at least compromise.
Our work has identified several symptoms of this shift towards destructive polarisation: (a) breakdown of communication; (b) discrediting and dismissing of information; (c) erasure of complexities; (d) exacerbated attention to and space for extreme voices; and (e) exclusion through emotions. Drawing on social media data, this contribution uses the novel methodological approach of practice mapping to identify the discursive groups and their positions in a given public debate, and to assess the extent to which their activities exhibit the symptoms of destructive polarisation.
