> turned into a toxic shitstorm with minimal informational or positive emotional output, it was a waste of time and energy all along This is true of just-about

> turned into a toxic shitstorm with minimal informational or positive emotional output, it was a waste of time and energy all along This is true of just-about every political conversation on FB and other social media. And, no, it isn't limited to engaging with conservatives. The extremes are present on all sides. It's absolutely horrific to watch. We have watched family members and friends turn on each other and end-up on diametrically opposite ends of the political spectrum, locked into inescapable toxic resonant chambers. The process is insidious. In other words, it tends to happen gradually, slowly, over time. The algorithms optimize and keep shoving people deeper and deeper into mono-culture echo chambers. I have personally seen people go from nice-as-can-be to merchants of hatred, again, on both the right and the left. This is no different from the kind of indoctrination that produces such things as terrorists. The difference is that it can happen much faster and it is happening to adults. They are in the grips of a machine learning algorithm with a fitness function that optimizes for nothing that is healthy for the user at all. Like I said, it is horrific to watch. About a year ago I removed all of my FB connections and only kept about a dozen direct family members, just to exchange pictures, videos and keep in touch. The rest is something I do not care to ever be exposed to again. I lost decades-long real-life friends over the effects of the FB algorithm. Truly sad stuff.