The social media outrage index isn’t a very accurate way judging how everyday Americans feel about events in the news.
Social media platforms, like Twitter and Facebook, are great places for the most closed-minded, opinionated, thin-skinned, and angriest among us to vent their frustrations.
But, while those people are foaming at the mouth, most people are going about their day, worrying about making ends meet and thinking about how to care for their families and friends.
They’re probably happier, too.
If you were on Twitter in the weeks before the Super Bowl you probably would have thought conservatives everywhere were irate over the “controversial” Gillette “Best Men Can Be” advertisement.
The nearly two-minute digital ad opens with a montage of news reports on bullying, #MeToo, and toxic masculinity and then frames the current moment as a turning point in which men can choose to be better while still being men.
It seems these folks incorrectly conflated the term “toxic masculinity” to mean “masculinity as a whole” and started #gilletteboycott. Here’s a nice explainer on toxic masculinity for those unfamiliar with the term.
However, all that hollering on social media wasn’t indicative of how the average American thought about Gillette after seeing the ad. In fact, studies show that Americans are smart enough to know the difference between toxic masculinity and masculinity in-general and liked the ad.
