3 ms·

Outrage bait is so yesterday. Outrage over the outrage bait is the new opium of the masses. Article after article of why you should be terrified of the existent

Outrage bait is so yesterday. Outrage over the outrage bait is the new opium of the masses. Article after article of why you should be terrified of the existential threat that hyperpoliticization represents to our society. It's still fear porn. It's still designed to drive clicks. You're not doing yourself any favors reading it. You're not becoming more educated, or more mindful. You're just trading one boogyman for another. Want to really solve the problem for yourself? Stop reading news, and stop reading articles about news. Stop using social media and stop reading articles about why you should stop using social media.

Y_Y 6y ago
Obviously I'm not interested in solving this problem for myself. That's why we're here. Like other vices, internet news just needs to be consumed in moderation.
- betwixthewires 6y ago
  Well I come here for the interesting nerd stuff, the research papers, the interesting perspectives on everything basically. Honestly I was a fan of substack and this article spurred me to realize what I said above and re think whether I like that publication or not. I agree with the principles and motivation of it's founding.
smt88 6y ago
I agree about the original outrage bait, but I disagree that the resulting outrage is not scary. > Article after article of why you should be terrified of the existential threat that hyperpoliticization represents to our society. Why shouldn't I be terrified that nearly 1,000 people attempted to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in the US on Jan 6, and something like 30% of the country agrees with their cause? How is it not terrifying that so many elected officials get death threats, and there was a botched plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan? To make it more personal: a friend listed me as a co-organizer of a demonstration to support the counting of votes in the US (i.e. we were opposed to throwing out thousands of votes, which the courts prevented in the end anyway). A few days later, the FBI warned us that our names and addresses were on Oathkeepers message boards. They advised us to cancel the demonstration for our safety, which we did. Let's assume at least one of those people really wanted to kill me. The original outrage bait that made him so angry was certainly fake, but his outrage was absolutely real. I can stop reading news and social media, but that doesn't solve the problem of all the other people who are reading it.
- betwixthewires 6y ago
  You shouldn't be terrified because everything you've said is over exaggerated horse shit being fed to you to keep you angry. Most people don't think they're hyperpoliticized, but if you want to find out for sure, check and see if every talking point you use when politics comes up are exactly the same as the ones used by partisan propaganda outlets. If you check all the boxes for either CNN or Breitbart, you've been successfully fearmonhgered and hyperpoliticized by propaganda. Also, what I said that you quoted, I was referring to the "existential threat to our society" that is referenced in the article, that is, internet news and it's polarization effect, not the scaremongering fed to you by whatever news you consume.

Y_Y 6y ago

Obviously I'm not interested in solving this problem for myself. That's why we're here. Like other vices, internet news just needs to be consumed in moderation.

betwixthewires 6y ago
Well I come here for the interesting nerd stuff, the research papers, the interesting perspectives on everything basically. Honestly I was a fan of substack and this article spurred me to realize what I said above and re think whether I like that publication or not. I agree with the principles and motivation of it's founding.

smt88 6y ago

I agree about the original outrage bait, but I disagree that the resulting outrage is not scary. > Article after article of why you should be terrified of the existential threat that hyperpoliticization represents to our society. Why shouldn't I be terrified that nearly 1,000 people attempted to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in the US on Jan 6, and something like 30% of the country agrees with their cause? How is it not terrifying that so many elected officials get death threats, and there was a botched plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan? To make it more personal: a friend listed me as a co-organizer of a demonstration to support the counting of votes in the US (i.e. we were opposed to throwing out thousands of votes, which the courts prevented in the end anyway). A few days later, the FBI warned us that our names and addresses were on Oathkeepers message boards. They advised us to cancel the demonstration for our safety, which we did. Let's assume at least one of those people really wanted to kill me. The original outrage bait that made him so angry was certainly fake, but his outrage was absolutely real. I can stop reading news and social media, but that doesn't solve the problem of all the other people who are reading it.

betwixthewires 6y ago
You shouldn't be terrified because everything you've said is over exaggerated horse shit being fed to you to keep you angry. Most people don't think they're hyperpoliticized, but if you want to find out for sure, check and see if every talking point you use when politics comes up are exactly the same as the ones used by partisan propaganda outlets. If you check all the boxes for either CNN or Breitbart, you've been successfully fearmonhgered and hyperpoliticized by propaganda. Also, what I said that you quoted, I was referring to the "existential threat to our society" that is referenced in the article, that is, internet news and it's polarization effect, not the scaremongering fed to you by whatever news you consume.