Not trolling: social media. It’s a mind virus used by both sides to ignite hate and culture wars. It uses 9 second video clips to project the actions of the few onto the many, making you hate entire groups of people without understanding basic statistics. The “feel it in your gut” crowd chose those words for very specific reasons.
I agree. Ideas in general are like a virus living in our brains. (They mostly consist of small packages of information. They require a host for metabolism / real effect. They spread from human to human.) The internet facilitates the spreading of these viruses; which often overwhelms the participating humans. In theory, it can/will also lead to a lot of innovation, because ideas spread more rapidly/easily. In practice, i think it does, but it also leads to virus-infection-like / fever-like symptoms, including: nausea, feeling of weakness (whenever reading political news).
Everyone knows that racism and hate was invented in 2006 by Mark Zuckerberg.
Social Media isn’t innately harmful. But it’s been abused by the powerful to control the masses. The same as religion, print, radio, and television before it
How do you reconcile that with how social media platforms like Lemmy allow people to collaborate across groups also? Or to educate?
Like, I do agree that social media plays a hugely pivotal role. But that’s because humans are social creatures with pliable perspectives and are reactive to the views of those we call our peers.
That means special interest groups can tell us what our views should be and sway millions, but it also means that small towns have always been extremely insular and would reject ‘out-group’ people, with or without social media. The ‘liberal redneck’ can only exist now because they can have contact with diverse and nuanced people outside of their local communities through online platforms.
I think humans have stunted relationships with their local communities in favour of fragile online ones, but I believe bad actors are leveraging the power of humanity’s propensity for community groupthink. Social media expands the size of our ‘tribes’, but it’s engagement algorythms that are enforcing echo chambers, to keep us on platforms in profitable ways. That is a property of for profit Capitalism, more than of remote peer-to-peer interaction.
I will say that Lemmy has been a place where I can actually have a discussion. Why? Because it hasn’t been bought and sold by special interests and bot networks. X, Reddit, they all have. This will too if it becomes popular enough.
I think that social media (which is much broader than most people think) isn’t really the issue. It’s a tool being leveraged by the real danger. As you say, Lemmy hasn’t been bought and sold by special interest groups.
The way social media is leveraged is very harmful, but those groups are also leveraging other media (particularly the news). I would blame our ibcreased social division on the special interest groups that benefit from, and promote, social division.
IMO blaming social media itself for our woes is like blaming the ocean’s plastic on straws. It ultimately let’s the real damage continue while blaming the everyman’s suffering on their own consumption.
I think your last paragraph hit the nail on the head. As with any drug, moderation is key. Social media is a dopamine drug 100%, and just like some drugs, people cut it with shit that’s bad. It’s an odd analogy, but I think folks (myself included from time to time), spend way too much time here, and if gets in your head. But winter is cold and windy and wet and inside just seems to keep leading back here.
I often argue that Reddit and Lemmy are not the same type of social media that Facebook and the like are, but they’re just as susceptible to influence. Individuals need to think more about themselves and their micro existence, before diving into global issues so much. At least, that’s how I try to avoid the crippling depression that comes from post after post written by chicken little.
You don’t even know it’s happening, that’s a huge part of the problem. If I trust everything I’m an idiot, if I don’t trust anything, then what do I believe? It just reinforces echo chambers and comfortable narratives.
Not trolling: social media. It’s a mind virus used by both sides to ignite hate and culture wars. It uses 9 second video clips to project the actions of the few onto the many, making you hate entire groups of people without understanding basic statistics. The “feel it in your gut” crowd chose those words for very specific reasons.
Social media is a curse.
I agree. Ideas in general are like a virus living in our brains. (They mostly consist of small packages of information. They require a host for metabolism / real effect. They spread from human to human.) The internet facilitates the spreading of these viruses; which often overwhelms the participating humans. In theory, it can/will also lead to a lot of innovation, because ideas spread more rapidly/easily. In practice, i think it does, but it also leads to virus-infection-like / fever-like symptoms, including: nausea, feeling of weakness (whenever reading political news).
Amen brother
Everyone knows that racism and hate was invented in 2006 by Mark Zuckerberg.
Social Media isn’t innately harmful. But it’s been abused by the powerful to control the masses. The same as religion, print, radio, and television before it
Yeah thanks for repeating what I said
How do you reconcile that with how social media platforms like Lemmy allow people to collaborate across groups also? Or to educate?
Like, I do agree that social media plays a hugely pivotal role. But that’s because humans are social creatures with pliable perspectives and are reactive to the views of those we call our peers.
That means special interest groups can tell us what our views should be and sway millions, but it also means that small towns have always been extremely insular and would reject ‘out-group’ people, with or without social media. The ‘liberal redneck’ can only exist now because they can have contact with diverse and nuanced people outside of their local communities through online platforms.
I think humans have stunted relationships with their local communities in favour of fragile online ones, but I believe bad actors are leveraging the power of humanity’s propensity for community groupthink. Social media expands the size of our ‘tribes’, but it’s engagement algorythms that are enforcing echo chambers, to keep us on platforms in profitable ways. That is a property of for profit Capitalism, more than of remote peer-to-peer interaction.
I will say that Lemmy has been a place where I can actually have a discussion. Why? Because it hasn’t been bought and sold by special interests and bot networks. X, Reddit, they all have. This will too if it becomes popular enough.
Saw this and thought it was appropriate:
I think that social media (which is much broader than most people think) isn’t really the issue. It’s a tool being leveraged by the real danger. As you say, Lemmy hasn’t been bought and sold by special interest groups.
The way social media is leveraged is very harmful, but those groups are also leveraging other media (particularly the news). I would blame our ibcreased social division on the special interest groups that benefit from, and promote, social division.
IMO blaming social media itself for our woes is like blaming the ocean’s plastic on straws. It ultimately let’s the real damage continue while blaming the everyman’s suffering on their own consumption.
I think your last paragraph hit the nail on the head. As with any drug, moderation is key. Social media is a dopamine drug 100%, and just like some drugs, people cut it with shit that’s bad. It’s an odd analogy, but I think folks (myself included from time to time), spend way too much time here, and if gets in your head. But winter is cold and windy and wet and inside just seems to keep leading back here.
I often argue that Reddit and Lemmy are not the same type of social media that Facebook and the like are, but they’re just as susceptible to influence. Individuals need to think more about themselves and their micro existence, before diving into global issues so much. At least, that’s how I try to avoid the crippling depression that comes from post after post written by chicken little.
Yep. Extremist groups use it to spread misinformation and recruit people. It’s scary, and everyone in this thread will have seen some at some point.
You don’t even know it’s happening, that’s a huge part of the problem. If I trust everything I’m an idiot, if I don’t trust anything, then what do I believe? It just reinforces echo chambers and comfortable narratives.