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Was this an internet age thing? I mean 24hour news networks found out long before social media took off that they can eat a bigger piece of the pie and not sp

Was this an internet age thing? I mean 24hour news networks found out long before social media took off that they can eat a bigger piece of the pie and not spend money working on news by running opinion hacks. Just decide which echo chamber you want to pander to and then fill up your schedule with pundits. Their market share went up, their costs went down and no matter what happens or doesn't happen each day, they have a group of people that want to tune in. People like to hear their world view reaffirmed. Silicon valley just optimized it and turned it in to a science. I'm sure various social scientists and historians could link it other issues. Advertising and selling goods in and of itself doesn't really explain how people just fall in to utter bullshit beliefs, does it?

wonderwonder 5y ago
The internet is a little different as on tv they cant follow you from channel to channel recommending things for you to watch. Tv shows cost a good deal of money to produce so the range of offerings is limited. On the internet, algorithms track your every click even to the point of noticing that you paused on a headline but did not click it. They are able to build a profile on you that is likely more accurate than anything ever created before including your understanding of yourself. With this profile they also have an almost unlimited supply of videos, articles and social media posts to send your way that your profile says you will likely click on. Each time you click on something their profile is updated and improved. They are able to create a steady stream of offered media that cannot help but reinforce your views on the world as you are quite often not presented with much of an alternative. If you are not a technical person and you are only presented with news that supports your political ideology you may very well think that everyone else is getting the same feed. This would make them think that if you are getting the same news as them and still hold a different viewpoint then you are being willfully ignorant and choosing to be malicious. See the rise of the "liberalism is a disease" meme. For example if all the news you see says Biden is senile and a terrible person, why would you not believe it? In the same way in which someone on the left was presented with a very negative feed of Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his nomination process. A good example of how powerful the ML algorithms are now is NBA player Kyrie Irving and his trip down the youtube rabbit hole that convinced him the earth was flat. He also holds Anti-Vax ideas, which were most likely influenced by his internet browsing habits.

wonderwonder 5y ago

The internet is a little different as on tv they cant follow you from channel to channel recommending things for you to watch. Tv shows cost a good deal of money to produce so the range of offerings is limited. On the internet, algorithms track your every click even to the point of noticing that you paused on a headline but did not click it. They are able to build a profile on you that is likely more accurate than anything ever created before including your understanding of yourself. With this profile they also have an almost unlimited supply of videos, articles and social media posts to send your way that your profile says you will likely click on. Each time you click on something their profile is updated and improved. They are able to create a steady stream of offered media that cannot help but reinforce your views on the world as you are quite often not presented with much of an alternative. If you are not a technical person and you are only presented with news that supports your political ideology you may very well think that everyone else is getting the same feed. This would make them think that if you are getting the same news as them and still hold a different viewpoint then you are being willfully ignorant and choosing to be malicious. See the rise of the "liberalism is a disease" meme. For example if all the news you see says Biden is senile and a terrible person, why would you not believe it? In the same way in which someone on the left was presented with a very negative feed of Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his nomination process. A good example of how powerful the ML algorithms are now is NBA player Kyrie Irving and his trip down the youtube rabbit hole that convinced him the earth was flat. He also holds Anti-Vax ideas, which were most likely influenced by his internet browsing habits.