The Decline of Social Skills and the Rise of the Far-Right

The Ineffectiveness of Political Debate

• 🧠 Political debates and new information often fail to change people's minds due to cognitive dissonance, leading individuals to re-entrench their existing beliefs.
• 📺 Despite being a significant part of political culture, televised debates and discussions among friends have been shown by social scientists to have roughly zero effect on voting habits or political beliefs.
• 🗣️ Changing deeply held political views requires more than just presenting new arguments; it necessitates a deeper understanding of psychology and neuroscience.

Social Atrophy and Political Polarization

• 📉 The rise of the far-right globally may be linked to social atrophy, a phenomenon where social isolation leads to a decline in social skills and judgment.
• ⚠️ Social isolation causes the brain to lose metaphorical