Opinion | Technology is making us less open to divergent views

In her book Uncivil Agreement, Lilliana Mason makes a remarkably perceptive statement. There was a time, she observes, when religion and politics were never discussed at dinner parties. The guests we invited to our homes came from such diverse political, religious and cultural backgrounds that etiquette demanded that certain topics were just not raised for fear of accidentally offending someone.

This is no longer the case. Politics is, more often than not, the centrepiece of our after-dinner discussions and we can rely on many hours of postprandial entertainment as we freely dissect the latest political events without fear of causing offence. Why is this so? According to Lilliana, it’s because we now only invite into our homes people whose views coincide perfectly with our own.