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I haven't used TikTok, but I wonder if it is flooded with filter-bubble fueled politics? That my primary concern with Facebook, Twitter and Youtube (and others)

I haven't used TikTok, but I wonder if it is flooded with filter-bubble fueled politics? That my primary concern with Facebook, Twitter and Youtube (and others), and I honestly think the world would be a better place if that could be turned off.

benreesman 5y ago
So during my time at FB I spent most of it on ML infra for ads and IG. But I did spend 2016 in a content moderation group. And 2016 was both the inflection point of everyday people saying “FB is fucking with elections” and believe me or not, a totally clean election at least as concerns the outcome (I voted for Clinton FWIW). Most people’s objections to the effect of social media on politics, and I used to do this for a living, seem to boil down to: “It’s the platform’s responsibility to put downward pressure on stuff I disagree with”. I don’t mean to be flip, but one person’s “misinformation” is another person’s “free speech”.
- jwally 5y ago
  That's fascinating. Matt Taibbi recently did an article - a takeaway from which was that Facebook is currently doing exactly that - burying content that is true but lends credence to crazy. https://taibbi.substack.com/p/the-british-medical-journal-story https://taibbi.substack.com/p/the-british-medical-journal-st...
nisegami 5y ago
TikTok turns it up to 11 in my experience. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube all started off with a mechanism where you choose whose content to view through following/subscribing/friending. Over time, this was de-emphasized in favor of algorithmic recommendations, but it's still a strong signal. On the other hand, following on TikTok feels like an afterthought - it really aggressively recommends content based on the slightest interest. TikTok's algorithm is strikingly good at identifying what you like and keeping you there. YouTube also tries this, but it seems to be less effective at it and just degrade to showing you videos for the extremes of your political leaning rather than say, how effectively TikTok figured out what I find physically attractive.
dahdum 5y ago
TikTok highly optimizes to the individual, but from what I can tell there's little toxic political material, partially due to the threat of censorship or reduced reach. Filter bubbles are a thing, but nothing like the rabbit hole of YouTube, and are more benign imho. It's mostly short form content up to 3 minutes long. It took a lot of effort get my Facebook/Instgram feed to be a mostly positive experience, but TikTok's algorithm did it immediately. For me it brings back the fun of the early internet.
sethammons 5y ago
TikTok is pretty well targeted. You just choose what to engage with. I skip funny, animals, and politics. I watch woodworking, cooking, and self-reliance clips. My daughter watches world class medical experts as they explain cool things. The "crack" element of it is you can feel productive consuming it, after all, you are kinda learning. My hack is I want to start taking notes during some TikToks and then not return until I perform the recipe, craft, life hack, etc.

benreesman 5y ago

So during my time at FB I spent most of it on ML infra for ads and IG. But I did spend 2016 in a content moderation group. And 2016 was both the inflection point of everyday people saying “FB is fucking with elections” and believe me or not, a totally clean election at least as concerns the outcome (I voted for Clinton FWIW). Most people’s objections to the effect of social media on politics, and I used to do this for a living, seem to boil down to: “It’s the platform’s responsibility to put downward pressure on stuff I disagree with”. I don’t mean to be flip, but one person’s “misinformation” is another person’s “free speech”.

jwally 5y ago
That's fascinating. Matt Taibbi recently did an article - a takeaway from which was that Facebook is currently doing exactly that - burying content that is true but lends credence to crazy. https://taibbi.substack.com/p/the-british-medical-journal-story https://taibbi.substack.com/p/the-british-medical-journal-st...

nisegami 5y ago

TikTok turns it up to 11 in my experience. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube all started off with a mechanism where you choose whose content to view through following/subscribing/friending. Over time, this was de-emphasized in favor of algorithmic recommendations, but it's still a strong signal. On the other hand, following on TikTok feels like an afterthought - it really aggressively recommends content based on the slightest interest. TikTok's algorithm is strikingly good at identifying what you like and keeping you there. YouTube also tries this, but it seems to be less effective at it and just degrade to showing you videos for the extremes of your political leaning rather than say, how effectively TikTok figured out what I find physically attractive.

dahdum 5y ago

TikTok highly optimizes to the individual, but from what I can tell there's little toxic political material, partially due to the threat of censorship or reduced reach. Filter bubbles are a thing, but nothing like the rabbit hole of YouTube, and are more benign imho. It's mostly short form content up to 3 minutes long. It took a lot of effort get my Facebook/Instgram feed to be a mostly positive experience, but TikTok's algorithm did it immediately. For me it brings back the fun of the early internet.

sethammons 5y ago

TikTok is pretty well targeted. You just choose what to engage with. I skip funny, animals, and politics. I watch woodworking, cooking, and self-reliance clips. My daughter watches world class medical experts as they explain cool things. The "crack" element of it is you can feel productive consuming it, after all, you are kinda learning. My hack is I want to start taking notes during some TikToks and then not return until I perform the recipe, craft, life hack, etc.