Social media arrived in reality before anybody had given their effect on societal environments any thought. Based on a misapprehension of how humans interact as social beings, political processes today have been replaced by extensive networking, introducing new rules to how people form and shape opinions. Democracy as a form of government is weakening, while autocracy is on the rise.

In his essay, Marc Nottelmann-Feil gives a matter-of-fact overview over developments everyone of us has already experienced for him- or herself. He illustrates why this revolution in human communications makes reconciling the interests of individuals, political groups and nations more difficult rather than easier.