Wrong on the Internet

2021-07-09 · letter vlog · Hank · 4:00 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Science & nature (also: Internet & YouTube) · mode: Personal essay

Frustrated that online arguments run on how ideas feel rather than on data, Hank takes the claim that individual climate action is pointless or distracting and reports research showing that acting individually signals an emergency and leads people to push for more systemic change, not less.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Online back-and-forth over good and bad ideas leaves people not knowing what to think

★★ Hank says it is easy not to know what to think, maybe partly from internet sociology: someone calls something a good idea, soon a movement calls it bad, and everyone gives up. (hedged) — 00:00:03
★★ Hank says this is also normal: with big, hard problems, even a very successful solution will not be the best possible one, because there are too many ways to do it. — 00:00:19

00:00:31 — Conversations devoid of data; we know climate change is real but not what exactly to do

★★★ What grinds Hank's gears is how devoid of data and analysis these conversations are, focusing mostly on how arguments make people feel. — 00:00:31
★★ Hank says for all 41 years of his life we have known climate change will impose devastating instability; those who deny it through greed, bias or ignorance are wrong. — 00:00:45 · climate change
★★ Hank says we don't know exactly what to do about climate change: he doesn't know what he or anyone else should do, or what any of us would do with sole power to act. (unsure) — 00:00:58 · climate change

00:01:14 — The 'only companies matter' claim and its more compelling systemic version

★★ Hank describes a circulating claim that individual action doesn't matter because 90% of emissions come from 50 companies, or something like that. (hedged) — 00:01:30
★★★ Hank calls this a nonsense thought: if those companies shut down, billions would die, since fuel still moves food trucks and tractors and energy heats and cools homes. — 00:01:44
★★ Hank says it is a fun, sticky idea that absolves people of personal responsibility; it feels good and resonates but makes no sense. — 00:02:04
★★ Hank describes a more compelling version: give up on personal responsibility because the problem needs system-wide solutions, and focusing on individuals distracts from pressuring governments and corporations. — 00:02:14
★★ Hank says that version resonates with him and is logical, but he has no idea whether it is true, and research shows that it is not. — 00:02:32

00:02:42 — Research: individual action signals an emergency and increases pushes for policy change

★★★ Hank says one of the most important ways we show something is an emergency is by acting like it: otherwise our brains struggle to remember the problem and others see fewer people acting. — 00:02:42
★★★ Hank reports that social scientists have found individual action leads to more pushes for policy change, not less, the opposite of the original idea. — 00:02:56
★★ Hank cites an article by social psychologists Hackel and Sparkman: people act not because they see smoke but because they see others rushing in with water. — 00:03:11

“they spring into action because they see others rushing in with water.”
★★ Hank says taking action affects people around you and also you, emphasizing within an individual that these things matter. — 00:03:20
★★★ Hank says science shows individual action never makes people more lenient on systems; it empowers those acting and their neighbors to push for more systemic change. — 00:03:28

00:03:40 — Researchers can tell us what online is wrong, but feel-good tweets go unchecked; sign-off

★★★ Hank says the good news is that researchers can tell us whether what we read online is wrong; the bad news is that if a tweet makes us feel good, we rarely research whether it is. — 00:03:40

In the description and comments

★★★ The description says we must treat the climate crisis as an emergency; personal action has a small impact, becomes part of your identity and shows others you care. — video description · climate change
★★ The description calls climate a justice issue: affluent people will suffer far less than those with less, within and across borders. — video description · climate change
★★ The description says it is time to act: advocate carbon taxes and keeping coal, oil and gas in the ground, and make thoughtful choices about your own impact; these are additive. — video description
★★ In a comment Hank worries about treating people who don't do what you do as bad people, which forces them outside to become opponents rather than inviting concern. — creator comment
★★ In a comment Hank says markets won't solve these problems just because people sacrifice, but showing sacrifice is possible makes market regulations more palatable. — creator comment

Threads in this video

restate · How serious is climate change? — Hank says for all 41 years of his life we have known climate change will impose devastating instability; those who deny it through greed, bias or ignorance are wrong. (00:00:45)
refine · Do individual green choices matter? — Hank says science shows individual action never makes people more lenient on systems; it empowers those acting and their neighbors to push for more systemic change. (00:03:28)
restate · Do big problems have simple solutions? — Hank says this is also normal: with big, hard problems, even a very successful solution will not be the best possible one, because there are too many ways to do it. (00:00:19)

Mentioned

Central: climate change · environmentalism

Also: Gregg Sparkman · Leor Hackel

Only in the description or credits: fossil fuel · Slate

Also centred on environmentalism: Maine Inspires Deep Thoughts · How to Be Green Without Being a Prick · I Disagree with Me (Thoughts from Lake Powell) · Why Environmentalists Hate Captain Planet

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