Tõnu Lehtsaar: what to do about opinion culture

Religion and communication psychologist Tõnu Lehtsaar writes about tensions in Estonian society that have emerged in connection with expressing and critiquing opinions. He highlights that the boundary between expressing an opinion and putting others down has become dangerously thin.

Religion and communication psychologist Tõnu Lehtsaar notes that Estonia is currently experiencing an exceptionally tense period, where it seems everyone is in conflict with everyone else.

According to Lehtsaar, one characteristic phenomenon in our current society is that people constantly express opinions about others. Meanwhile, the boundary between expressing an opinion and criticising has become very thin.

The psychologist points out that the path from criticism to dismissing and discarding others is no longer particularly long. This means that public exchange of opinions is transforming from constructive dialogue into something more destructive.