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Here's one. There are plenty of others. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-social-media-makes-us-more-polarized-and-how-to-fix-it/ https://www.scie

Here's one. There are plenty of others. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-social-media-makes-us-more-polarized-and-how-to-fix-it/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-social-media-...

sneak 6y ago
It doesn't offer any indication that social media is the root cause of the current state of political polarization in the US, or any indication that polarization is bad or harmful. I think people place far too much stock in US partisan screaming. It simply doesn't matter that much. I'm not arguing that the US isn't polarized, that much is clear. I just don't see any precipice.
- ChrisMarshallNY 6y ago
  Social media is not the cause of any of this. The techniques used, are probably hundreds of years old (maybe thousands). Social media is just a new medium; but an effective one that allows scale. I'm old enough to remember when television occupied the same slot.
  - sneak 6y ago
    Why does social media not pose the same polarization threat to large free countries other than the US? We're not seeing any large-scale global shift toward political polarization, and, Facebook is pretty much everywhere in the west.
    - ChrisMarshallNY 6y ago
      I wouldn't bet that other countries are exempt. If I remember, Europe has had quite a lot of trouble, due to polarization. I grew up in Africa, where tribal conflicts were absolutely horrifying. These types of campaigns are usually multi-pronged, sustained and coordinated. They aren't really effective, unless they are all managed by a central director. Dog whistles only work if you train the dogs. I think that it's about where the effort is directed. The US is a huge target. This nation has an oversize influence on the world, and it's natural for other nations that either resent this influence, and/or want to exert their own, to do as much as possible to damage the US. Looks like they've done a fairly good job.

sneak 6y ago

It doesn't offer any indication that social media is the root cause of the current state of political polarization in the US, or any indication that polarization is bad or harmful. I think people place far too much stock in US partisan screaming. It simply doesn't matter that much. I'm not arguing that the US isn't polarized, that much is clear. I just don't see any precipice.

ChrisMarshallNY 6y ago
Social media is not the cause of any of this. The techniques used, are probably hundreds of years old (maybe thousands). Social media is just a new medium; but an effective one that allows scale. I'm old enough to remember when television occupied the same slot.
- sneak 6y ago
  Why does social media not pose the same polarization threat to large free countries other than the US? We're not seeing any large-scale global shift toward political polarization, and, Facebook is pretty much everywhere in the west.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 6y ago
    I wouldn't bet that other countries are exempt. If I remember, Europe has had quite a lot of trouble, due to polarization. I grew up in Africa, where tribal conflicts were absolutely horrifying. These types of campaigns are usually multi-pronged, sustained and coordinated. They aren't really effective, unless they are all managed by a central director. Dog whistles only work if you train the dogs. I think that it's about where the effort is directed. The US is a huge target. This nation has an oversize influence on the world, and it's natural for other nations that either resent this influence, and/or want to exert their own, to do as much as possible to damage the US. Looks like they've done a fairly good job.