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It doesn’t matter how autonomous and free thinking you are or any other individual is— social media is transforming us into a collective. Like ants excreting ph

It doesn’t matter how autonomous and free thinking you are or any other individual is— social media is transforming us into a collective. Like ants excreting pheromones, our actions in aggregate are more powerful than any individual, the result being whatever results from this untested cocktail of biology, language and global connection. It’s unprecedented and borderline unpredictable. Nobody is in a position to directly manipulate our path... but our trajectory, if nudged in the right place and time, can have massive consequences in the future. Both the left and the right in the US are dysfunctional as a result of trajectories that were nudged decades ago.

onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
How is this worse than tightly controlled mass media? I think people like to look back on this non-existent golden era of News where it was fair and balanced and just reported the truth. That era never existed. At least now you have options. I hate social media as much as anyone, but it's not bringing an end to the world. It's easy to manipulate people of Facebook. But it's way easier on Fox News or CNN.
- pjc50 7y ago
  I think they're actually feeding off one another. e.g. recent controversy: > In December 2019, Newton Dunn wrote an article for The Sun titled "'HIJACKED LABOUR'", in which he reported that former British intelligence officers alleged that "Jeremy Corbyn is at the centre of an extraordinary network of hard-left extremists."[10] It was later found that the ultimate sources for the claim included the antisemitic, far-right websites the Millennium Report and Aryan Unity... The article was deleted on the day of publication, without comment from the paper or Newton Dunn. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Newton_Dunn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Newton_Dunn ; I believe this has already been through the wikipedia controversy process)
- zo1 7y ago
  You have options but you are being manipulated in subtle ways, whether nefariously or not. And that "manipulation" is a whole lot more hidden due to simply being "algorithms". On some level it is getting a free-pass compared to traditional media where you can clearly see the bias.
  - knzhou 7y ago
    "Algorithms" aren't mind controlling magic. Even if they can shift your political opinions accidentally, there are tons of people trying their hardest to do that on purpose. Your feed is filtered, so are the articles in your favorite newspaper.
- fzeroracer 7y ago
  You don't really have options. They're just replaced with the equivalent of dark patterns nudging you into buying things or doing certain things. You immediately know where the government stands. You have no clue whether or not the user you're interacting with on Twitter or Facebook is an actual user or someone paid to spread bullshit. Similarly, we all know the exact stances of Fox News or CNN whether or not we agree with it. But when you see an article on Facebook with a lot of likes or a trend on Twitter, do you know whose pushing it and why? Did it occur through an organic series of social actions or is it a narrative pushed by unaccountable bots?
- sjwright 7y ago
  You’re prioritising truth over social cohesion. I like truth but without social cohesion, no amount of truth matters.
josteink 7y ago
> social media is transforming us into a collective Or said another way: if you play, you lose. Your best bet is not to play. Quit social media. It’s actually not hard.
- pjc50 7y ago
  I can still lose if my fellow voters are making decisions based on nonsense, electing the Flat Earth Bridge Construction Party.
- ilikehurdles 7y ago
  It really isn’t hard, and by leaving you make social media less valuable to the leftovers. I left Facebook and people started messaging and inviting me to events over other means. People value relationships over platforms, a fact the “how am I supposed to engage with my family/friends/events/groups/photos”-excuse crowd often overlooks.
tomrod 7y ago
I think the rise in awareness and practice of mindfulness counteracts this dystopic march.

onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago

How is this worse than tightly controlled mass media? I think people like to look back on this non-existent golden era of News where it was fair and balanced and just reported the truth. That era never existed. At least now you have options. I hate social media as much as anyone, but it's not bringing an end to the world. It's easy to manipulate people of Facebook. But it's way easier on Fox News or CNN.

pjc50 7y ago
I think they're actually feeding off one another. e.g. recent controversy: > In December 2019, Newton Dunn wrote an article for The Sun titled "'HIJACKED LABOUR'", in which he reported that former British intelligence officers alleged that "Jeremy Corbyn is at the centre of an extraordinary network of hard-left extremists."[10] It was later found that the ultimate sources for the claim included the antisemitic, far-right websites the Millennium Report and Aryan Unity... The article was deleted on the day of publication, without comment from the paper or Newton Dunn. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Newton_Dunn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Newton_Dunn ; I believe this has already been through the wikipedia controversy process)
zo1 7y ago
You have options but you are being manipulated in subtle ways, whether nefariously or not. And that "manipulation" is a whole lot more hidden due to simply being "algorithms". On some level it is getting a free-pass compared to traditional media where you can clearly see the bias.
- knzhou 7y ago
  "Algorithms" aren't mind controlling magic. Even if they can shift your political opinions accidentally, there are tons of people trying their hardest to do that on purpose. Your feed is filtered, so are the articles in your favorite newspaper.
fzeroracer 7y ago
You don't really have options. They're just replaced with the equivalent of dark patterns nudging you into buying things or doing certain things. You immediately know where the government stands. You have no clue whether or not the user you're interacting with on Twitter or Facebook is an actual user or someone paid to spread bullshit. Similarly, we all know the exact stances of Fox News or CNN whether or not we agree with it. But when you see an article on Facebook with a lot of likes or a trend on Twitter, do you know whose pushing it and why? Did it occur through an organic series of social actions or is it a narrative pushed by unaccountable bots?
sjwright 7y ago
You’re prioritising truth over social cohesion. I like truth but without social cohesion, no amount of truth matters.

josteink 7y ago

> social media is transforming us into a collective Or said another way: if you play, you lose. Your best bet is not to play. Quit social media. It’s actually not hard.

pjc50 7y ago
I can still lose if my fellow voters are making decisions based on nonsense, electing the Flat Earth Bridge Construction Party.
ilikehurdles 7y ago
It really isn’t hard, and by leaving you make social media less valuable to the leftovers. I left Facebook and people started messaging and inviting me to events over other means. People value relationships over platforms, a fact the “how am I supposed to engage with my family/friends/events/groups/photos”-excuse crowd often overlooks.

tomrod 7y ago

I think the rise in awareness and practice of mindfulness counteracts this dystopic march.