Is society becoming more extreme?

In a more segmented and diversified age, we are inclined to vote according to issues, particularly the two or three that matter most to us, as individuals and as families.

Of course, in this media-saturated age we also vote for personality.

'Who can best negotiate a bacon sandwich?' may not be the stuff of Shakespearean political drama, but it does – if only subconsciously – colour the zeitgeist when it comes to 'Who can I relate to best?'

On a social level, any movement toward extremes is coloured in part by the impacts of globalisation, urbanisation and the high mobility of modern society. Each represents challenges to social cohesion.

We have more and more people living in smaller spaces who feel that they have less and less in common with each other.

It's harder for us to feel that we actually belong together in our communities, that we're all part of the same essential narrative, or share a common history.

This is exacerbated by the process of digitisation and the fact that so much of our conversation is mediated through gadgets and screens.

Before being accused of Luddism, I need to point out that as a social futurist I am very keen on new technologies, which I study relatively closely.

But technology is not destiny – the future is shaped more by human choice than by tools. We must decide how best to use technology – and we're still having that debate when it comes to such things as social media.

In response to all of this, there's a rise in tribalism, which in its most far-fetched guise is linked to xenophobia and ultra-nationalism.

In most cases, however, tribalism takes a much more benign form, as the expression of a search for others who think like us and share our worldview or heritage.

To break through the hubbub of a noisy age and locate potential friends, people of normally moderate views may experiment with the fringes of opinion a little more openly. They might also express half-formed views in uncharacteristically strong ways – in the cybersphere, for example.