Obama on Pitfalls on Internet

Former US President Barack Obama discussed the pitfalls of social media use in an overview with Britain’s Prince Harry. Obama warned that the Internet could be divisive. He said, “One of the dangers of the Internet is that people can have entirely different realities. They can be cocooned in information that reinforces their current biases.” As a countermeasure, Obama stressed the importance of people meeting face to face. The interview, which was broadcast Dec. 27 on the BBC Radio 4 Today program, was Obama’s first since leaving the Oval Office in January. The former president also urged leaders to use social media responsibly. However, he did not name names or comment on his successor President Donald Trump. Obama said, “All of us in leadership have to find ways in which we can recreate a common space on the Internet.”