Mayor Mike Ruttan says he’s been disgusted by much of the social media debate during this election.
He said toxic and slanderous comments made on Facebook and other social media platforms stifles communication and prevents the sharing of ideas, and is not good for the city, or democracy.
“I do worry about the toxicity of Facebook; I worry about the toxicity of social media,” he said. “It’s really unfortunate that the online communication, a lot of it has been really toxic, and I don’t believe that’s helpful for democracy.”
Ruttan says the benefits and bad parts of social media has played a more prominent role in this past council, than any council before.
He says the toxicity of social media has been far more prominent in this election than any previous.
Ruttan said as a result, he has spent more time knocking on doors than ever before, and he’s hearing more positive comments and engaging ideas through face-to-face discussions than he’s been seeing online.