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The solution is not regulate it. The solution is to stop pretending like social media have anything to do with reality.

by dpc_pw 7y ago

guelo 7y ago
The solution to the exploitation of human weaknesses is for humans to toughen up and stop being so human. /s
skybrian 7y ago
This is sort of like saying the solution to gambling is not to gamble. I mean, on one level, that works for many people, but on another, Las Vegas isn't going anywhere.
- jtuente 7y ago
  I think it's more akin to "the solution to gambling is to understand that you won't win". On one level you have a small group of people who know precisely how gambling works and can exploit it in limited circumstances, but on the standard level, you have the general population that's just playing games with a chance of winning money.
dr-detroit 7y ago
This. Social Media should be avoided its worse for you than cancer.
- mc3 7y ago
  Wait... HN is Social Media. Well it's not as in your face as FB, but at the minimum it influences people, and anyone can create an account and respond, and lots of people are reading. A lot of work goes into preventing bots etc on HN, but it is still not immune because the prize of getting your opinion or article read by the tech crowd is big.
int_19h 7y ago
It's only a solution if it actually solves the issue. You can drop all social media entirely, but other people who do not will still get influenced by it, and then vote. And you then have to deal with what they vote for, because it applies to everybody. This is what makes political ads so different from the rest of them - they're not ads for products that everybody decides for themselves to buy or not. Everybody's decisions here affect everybody else.
ezzzzz 7y ago
Try explaining this to the types of people who rely on heavily politicized news outlets for their news...in addition to Facebook. It seems you either have critical thinking skills or you don't. These types are addicted to becoming outraged whenever their pundit tells them to. Everything is taken at face value, as long as it's coming from their ascribed source of truth. This behavior carries over into their social media filter bubbles, rinse and repeat.
- mistermann 7y ago
  > It seems you either have critical thinking skills or you don't. I strongly disagree. Substantial amounts of similar (if to a lesser degree) behavior can be observed in any identity-related thread on HN. We may be better than the average mouth breather, but we're far from immune from delusional beliefs. I wonder, downvoter, why do you disagree? Surely you can acknowledge that technical folks on HN are capable of critical thinking....do you truly believe this ability extends to all other domains, completely free of error? Or, might it be something else? :)
- 12xo 7y ago
  Its a generational thing. Throughout the Boomer's entire lives the man on the evening news was worthy of your attention. He was a journalist, he was honorable and therefore worthy of paying mind...
wpietri 7y ago
The notion that the online world is deeply disconnected from the offline one strikes me as hopelessly ancient. It was certainly true for me when I was a kid calling BBSes from my basement. It's manifestly untrue for me now that I conduct most of my business and much of my recreation via video call, email, and social media tools. It has been a gradual change, of course. But if I were to pick a date where your notion became wrong, it'd be June 29, 2007. With the launch of the iPhone, the internet forever stopped being the thing inside the big box on your desk. Once it was in our pockets (and very often right in our hands), it stopped being cyberspace and became everyday life.
- phjesusthatguy3 7y ago
  >The notion that the online world is deeply disconnected from the offline one strikes me as hopelessly ancient. Communication has always been between real people in the real world. The method by which they communicate is what has changed.
criddell 7y ago
That might make sense if social media didn't change reality.
cortesoft 7y ago
And how do we make that happen? I, as an individual, already know social media does not reflect reality... however, I also know that it does AFFECT reality because other people believe it. I can't simply decide for other people to not be influenced. I always get frustrated at these kinds of suggestions; "you can solve problem X by just having people stop doing y!"... well, how do we get people to stop doing Y? You can't just wish it.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
jmkni 7y ago
For a lot of people, what they see on Social Media is reality. A good example is this recent thread from Reddit for a screenshot from Facebook about a guy who was arrested and named in the media. The screenshot claims the poster is with the guy and that he was 'Released Without Charge!' - https://old.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/dm4lda/came_across_this_on_facebook_no_surprise_the/ https://old.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/dm4lda/came_across... Lots of anger in the comments about the media, lots of sympathy for the 'poor' guy, lots of comments saying he should get a lawyer, sue the newspapers etc. The problem is the screenshot was bullshit. He wasn't released without charge at all, he has since been charged and is looking at 10+ years in jail, but that one screenshot from Facebook was all it took for people to be convinced, and not just in cyber-space, but in the real world. I'm from the same part of the world, and remember going into work the following day to find people talking about the 'poor guy', and expressing anger about how he had been treated, etc, because of that one screenshot doing the rounds.

The solution is not regulate it. The solution is to stop pretending like social media have anything to do with reality.

by dpc_pw 7y ago

The solution is not regulate it. The solution is to stop pretending like social media have anything to do with reality.

guelo 7y ago

The solution to the exploitation of human weaknesses is for humans to toughen up and stop being so human. /s

skybrian 7y ago

This is sort of like saying the solution to gambling is not to gamble. I mean, on one level, that works for many people, but on another, Las Vegas isn't going anywhere.

jtuente 7y ago
I think it's more akin to "the solution to gambling is to understand that you won't win". On one level you have a small group of people who know precisely how gambling works and can exploit it in limited circumstances, but on the standard level, you have the general population that's just playing games with a chance of winning money.

dr-detroit 7y ago

This. Social Media should be avoided its worse for you than cancer.

mc3 7y ago
Wait... HN is Social Media. Well it's not as in your face as FB, but at the minimum it influences people, and anyone can create an account and respond, and lots of people are reading. A lot of work goes into preventing bots etc on HN, but it is still not immune because the prize of getting your opinion or article read by the tech crowd is big.

int_19h 7y ago

It's only a solution if it actually solves the issue. You can drop all social media entirely, but other people who do not will still get influenced by it, and then vote. And you then have to deal with what they vote for, because it applies to everybody. This is what makes political ads so different from the rest of them - they're not ads for products that everybody decides for themselves to buy or not. Everybody's decisions here affect everybody else.

ezzzzz 7y ago

Try explaining this to the types of people who rely on heavily politicized news outlets for their news...in addition to Facebook. It seems you either have critical thinking skills or you don't. These types are addicted to becoming outraged whenever their pundit tells them to. Everything is taken at face value, as long as it's coming from their ascribed source of truth. This behavior carries over into their social media filter bubbles, rinse and repeat.

mistermann 7y ago
> It seems you either have critical thinking skills or you don't. I strongly disagree. Substantial amounts of similar (if to a lesser degree) behavior can be observed in any identity-related thread on HN. We may be better than the average mouth breather, but we're far from immune from delusional beliefs. I wonder, downvoter, why do you disagree? Surely you can acknowledge that technical folks on HN are capable of critical thinking....do you truly believe this ability extends to all other domains, completely free of error? Or, might it be something else? :)
12xo 7y ago
Its a generational thing. Throughout the Boomer's entire lives the man on the evening news was worthy of your attention. He was a journalist, he was honorable and therefore worthy of paying mind...

wpietri 7y ago

The notion that the online world is deeply disconnected from the offline one strikes me as hopelessly ancient. It was certainly true for me when I was a kid calling BBSes from my basement. It's manifestly untrue for me now that I conduct most of my business and much of my recreation via video call, email, and social media tools. It has been a gradual change, of course. But if I were to pick a date where your notion became wrong, it'd be June 29, 2007. With the launch of the iPhone, the internet forever stopped being the thing inside the big box on your desk. Once it was in our pockets (and very often right in our hands), it stopped being cyberspace and became everyday life.

phjesusthatguy3 7y ago
>The notion that the online world is deeply disconnected from the offline one strikes me as hopelessly ancient. Communication has always been between real people in the real world. The method by which they communicate is what has changed.

criddell 7y ago

That might make sense if social media didn't change reality.

cortesoft 7y ago

And how do we make that happen? I, as an individual, already know social media does not reflect reality... however, I also know that it does AFFECT reality because other people believe it. I can't simply decide for other people to not be influenced. I always get frustrated at these kinds of suggestions; "you can solve problem X by just having people stop doing y!"... well, how do we get people to stop doing Y? You can't just wish it.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

jmkni 7y ago

For a lot of people, what they see on Social Media is reality. A good example is this recent thread from Reddit for a screenshot from Facebook about a guy who was arrested and named in the media. The screenshot claims the poster is with the guy and that he was 'Released Without Charge!' - https://old.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/dm4lda/came_across_this_on_facebook_no_surprise_the/ https://old.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/dm4lda/came_across... Lots of anger in the comments about the media, lots of sympathy for the 'poor' guy, lots of comments saying he should get a lawyer, sue the newspapers etc. The problem is the screenshot was bullshit. He wasn't released without charge at all, he has since been charged and is looking at 10+ years in jail, but that one screenshot from Facebook was all it took for people to be convinced, and not just in cyber-space, but in the real world. I'm from the same part of the world, and remember going into work the following day to find people talking about the 'poor guy', and expressing anger about how he had been treated, etc, because of that one screenshot doing the rounds.