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This is an essay about what is largely a social media phenomenon. You can avoid the whole thing by just not participating. Seems like a waste of energy to even

This is an essay about what is largely a social media phenomenon. You can avoid the whole thing by just not participating. Seems like a waste of energy to even discuss vs just realizing that arguing publicly on a global scale is not a good use of your limited time on Earth.

ethbr0 5y ago
Public policy, and the power stemming from it, is a social phenomenon. Which isn't to say that Twitter is important to the United States' future, but also is to say that it's not unimportant. Commons sway votes, which sway policy in a democracy.
- Barrin92 5y ago
  >Commons sway votes, which sway policy in a democracy. Evidence suggests otherwise[1]. In the US (and really anywhere else) public policy is elite driven, and if anything public discourse and public opinion is amorphous and shifts as a response to whatever is passed down by institutions, be that corporate, academia, the media or what have you. This very intuitively is visible in the 'topic of the day/week/month' nature of American discourse where everyone seemingly synchronized goes into a frenzy only to move on to the next thing a while later. The 'commons' are a giant entertainment machine where people who have practically zero influence on anything meaningful can spent their time, that's about it. [1]https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-poli...
derevaunseraun 5y ago
> You can avoid the whole thing by just not participating. Except when people don't participate they get nothing out of the exchange and there's no discussion or progress
- fassssst 5y ago
  Progress happens offline.
  - rossvor 5y ago
    But you can't deny that Internet is a great multiplier for progress. So you are just handicapping yourself. I'd rather we figure out how to address the problem instead.
  - hansoolo 5y ago
    Totally agree. I even think, that the radicalisation everywhere directly derives from the all huge social media bubbles.
- hansoolo 5y ago
  But participating in a Twitter flame war or something related mostly just hardens opinions. Everything happening online is behind the anonymous mask.
FerociousTimes 5y ago
Except that the conversations on social media seeps into and spills over into other facets of real life and affects public discourse on traditional mass media and public policy in general.
josephcsible 5y ago
> You can avoid the whole thing by just not participating. No you can't. If someone records you saying something heretical, they can share it on social media and the cancel mob will get you fired from your job, even if you don't have social media yourself.

ethbr0 5y ago

Public policy, and the power stemming from it, is a social phenomenon. Which isn't to say that Twitter is important to the United States' future, but also is to say that it's not unimportant. Commons sway votes, which sway policy in a democracy.

Barrin92 5y ago
>Commons sway votes, which sway policy in a democracy. Evidence suggests otherwise[1]. In the US (and really anywhere else) public policy is elite driven, and if anything public discourse and public opinion is amorphous and shifts as a response to whatever is passed down by institutions, be that corporate, academia, the media or what have you. This very intuitively is visible in the 'topic of the day/week/month' nature of American discourse where everyone seemingly synchronized goes into a frenzy only to move on to the next thing a while later. The 'commons' are a giant entertainment machine where people who have practically zero influence on anything meaningful can spent their time, that's about it. [1]https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-poli...

derevaunseraun 5y ago

> You can avoid the whole thing by just not participating. Except when people don't participate they get nothing out of the exchange and there's no discussion or progress

fassssst 5y ago
Progress happens offline.
- rossvor 5y ago
  But you can't deny that Internet is a great multiplier for progress. So you are just handicapping yourself. I'd rather we figure out how to address the problem instead.
- hansoolo 5y ago
  Totally agree. I even think, that the radicalisation everywhere directly derives from the all huge social media bubbles.
hansoolo 5y ago
But participating in a Twitter flame war or something related mostly just hardens opinions. Everything happening online is behind the anonymous mask.

FerociousTimes 5y ago

Except that the conversations on social media seeps into and spills over into other facets of real life and affects public discourse on traditional mass media and public policy in general.

josephcsible 5y ago

> You can avoid the whole thing by just not participating. No you can't. If someone records you saying something heretical, they can share it on social media and the cancel mob will get you fired from your job, even if you don't have social media yourself.