Social polarization is associated with the segregation within a society that may emerge from income inequality, real-estate fluctuations, economic displacements etc. and result in such differentiation that would consist of various social groups, from high-income to low-income.
Contents
- Social Polarization The Creative Class
- Social Polarization Urban Poverty
- Social Polarization The Media
- References
One of the earlier stimulating research works on social polarization is from R.E. Pahl on Isle of Sheppey, wherein he provides a comparison between the Pre-capitalist society and capitalist society.
More recently, a number of research projects have been increasingly addressing the issues of social polarization within the developed economies. When social polarization occurs in addition to economic restructuring, particularly in cities, economic inequality along social class and racial lines is exacerbated. Such separation can be best observed in the urban environment, “where [communities] of extreme wealth and social power are interspersed with places of deprivation, exclusion, and decline.”
In addition to how spatial compositions are managed in cities, the technologies used in regards to social relations can also contribute to social polarization (see Social Polarization & The Media).
Increased spatial segregation of socioeconomic groups correlates strongly with social polarization as well as social exclusion and societal fragmentation.
Social Polarization & The Creative Class
Aspects of this concept can also be associated with the phenomena of the creative class and how these members have created their own dominant status within society. Globalization and its associated ”creative destruction" has contributed to great prosperity and growth for elites in many cities. Conversely, the process of creative destruction is intrinsically spatially uneven, so some urban neighborhoods “at the receiving end” of globalization are harmed by it.
Social Polarization & Urban Poverty
Several theoretical models can be strung together to explain the basics that create social polarization, and the subsequent deprivation that occurs when there is extreme societal deprivation between those of high-wealth and low-wealth. They are:
When these phenomenon are combined in urban areas, it can fuel social polarization. Urban decay is a visual manifestation of social polarization, while riots, civil commotion and general social disintegration can be symptomatic of this concept as well.
However, it can also lead to an informal economy in many urban areas.
Social Polarization & The Media
Digital media, and particularly social media, could potentially play a role in encouraging social polarization. This is because social media sites like Facebook can help cluster friends and acquaintances into homophilous circles, and social news sites like Digg can facilitate a consumption of news that is biased by its user’s choices. In the extreme, a lack of “a common public sphere” could lead to isolated, polarized groups which could even be hostile towards one another. For example, during the Arab Spring uprisings, it was observed that social media furthered the social stratification already present in several Arab states.
However, cyberbalkinization, the phenomenon where media audiences fragment into "enclaves" where they only consume content they concur with—and thus theoretically promoting social polarization—may not have as much influence as believed. Utilizing Nielsen television and Internet audience data, J.G. Webster found that ideological segmentation among media users was unlikely, as “even consumers of obscure niche media devoted most of their attention to more broadly appealing fare.”
Yet Webster does admit that his research does not measure the particular nature of the subject matter consumed , or how strongly it affected the media viewers’ perceptions of society.