The final factor in Walter’s list of causes is the advent of the internet, the massive adoption of smartphones, and the rise of social media. In her view, the algorithms of social media serve as “accelerants” for violence by promoting a sense of perpetual crisis, a feeling of growing despair, and a perception that moderates have failed. “It’s at this point that violence breaks out: when citizens become convinced that there is no hope of fixing their problems through conventional means.”[13]
