Yes, I’m glad you pointed this out! Often people making the arguments about “echo chambers” miss the part where the reason some of us retreat into such spaces is because of the emotional abuse we receive on social media. They don’t take into account that we are well aware of what the other side thinks of us because they never shut up about what they think.

When you’re a member of a marginalized group it’s almost impossible to live in an echo chamber. As a black woman, I am often inundated with the regressive opinions of others all over social media, and there are plenty of people invading spaces where marginalized people talk together, which get invaded by people who want to argue their humanity. So there’s no such thing as us being unaware of the opinions of those who disagree with us. In fact, we often need to pay attention to what such people are doing and saying so we can prepare and protect ourselves from harm.