I have noticed posts on Facebook now, finally, asking people not to feed the trolls by responding to their messages.

I think that social media companies have been irresponsible in their passing the buck on moderating conversations in the name of avoiding censorship.

I am more concerned, however, that people my age and younger (gen x) never had civics in school. There used to be an assumption that the world is chaotic, and that all we have is each other, which meant that the best society has to offer is its culture. Being uncultured was seen as so uncouth that people wouldn't stand for it. Today it's everywhere.

I see people questioning other people's patriotism every day. I see conspiracy theories given the same benefit of the doubt as science. I see lies told on the news without retraction or accountability.

Without a mass movement to educate and inform people about how to think critically and treat one another with dignity, technology will be of little help.

That said, I'm still hopeful that the tech community can help leapfrog this ugliness. Or at least, quantify the problem and begin working towards solutions.