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Many social media sites evolved from time sorted posts to algorithm sorted posts. The algorithms are data driven and designed to maximize engagement, as it impr
by hourago 4y ago
Many social media sites evolved from time sorted posts to algorithm sorted posts. The algorithms are data driven and designed to maximize engagement, as it improves revenue. This creates an incentive to push highly controversial topics over more casual content.
- China is already regulating this: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/07/china-to-regulate-tech-giants-algorithms-in-unprecedented-move.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/07/china-to-regulate-tech-giant...
> Users must be able to opt out of having recommendation services via algorithms.
That one would be great, even better, it should be the default option. People should be able to opt-in if they feel like it, but it should not be the default.
- cronix 4y agosorting from newest first is also a data driven algorithm
- fknorangesite 4y agoYes, everyone on HN knows this. But the usage of "algorithm" in the context of social media feeds has long had the colloquial meaning of "building a feed that is anything other than chronological."
- thatjoeoverthr 4y agoIt’s also a transparent one with no ulterior motives and straightforward consequences.
- bertil 4y agoFacebook algorithm hasn’t been optimised to maximise time spent on the site since 2014, and controversial topics have a well documented negative effect on both attention and engagement.
- prophesi 4y agoTheir own leaked internal docs say that angry, love, sad, and wow reactions had 5x more weight than traditional likes. It should be easy to infer that this will promote more controversial posts than uncontroversial ones. It seems like their attention & engagement tweaks are spent on Instagram. One frustrating recent change was the introduction of a non-algorithmic feed, but it's not on by default, and it hides stories from the view, which makes it unusable for most people.
- bertil 4y ago> angry, love, sad, and wow Those are not reactions to controversial posts. Those are stong reactions to posts that you want to see and you generally agree with. 'lol' has been used either as it was meant (positive reaction to a joke) or negatively (mocking a sincere post).
- strulovich 4y agoThis is from when reactions where being rolled out. The intent was that choosing a specific reaction Carrie’s more meaning than a generic like. If love, laugh, wow, all positive carry the same as sad and angry why would that mean more controversial? People love having angry content as viral sire, but that’s human nature and existed much before the angry reaction was added.
- prophesi 4y agoLove, laugh, and wow aren't necessarily positive (and even hate can be positive in context). These are often used on clickbait posts that "dunk" on the other side, or uphold your controversial views, which then displays more of this content and helps contribute to society's political polarization.
- erellsworth 4y ago> controversial topics have a well documented negative effect on both attention and engagement. Citation needed.
- bertil 4y agoIf I call you a child-eating asshole, and every story is either about how much of a goat-fucking moron you are, or gruesome stories with graphic murders, will you want to stay on Hacker News?
- mtlmtlmtlmtl 4y ago>>citation needed >strawman provided Dictionary needed?
- Nextgrid 4y agoDirect insults aren't what FB is promoting. FB promotes biased if not outright fake coverage of real-world events that stir up outrage and controversy and encourage people to "engage" by arguing in the comments or seeking more of such content.
- bertil 4y agoBut the thing is: outrage and controversy are seen by your friends who are insulted by it.
- erellsworth 4y agoFirst, that's not a citation. Where's the data that shows controversy reduces engagement? Second, that's not at all what happens on Facebook though. On Facebook every other story is about how people outside of your tribe are child-eating assholes. This very discussion is a counterfactual to your claim. Someone posts a topic that is somewhat controversial, and we're all arguing about it in the comments. That's engagement. That's what most social media optimizes for, and it's why most social media is cesspit.
- jjulius 4y ago>Facebook algorithm hasn’t been optimised to maximise time spent on the site since 2014... Citation needed.
- disgruntledphd2 4y agoThe OP worked there at the time. You're probably not going to get a better citation than that.
- pmoriarty 4y agoHow does a user verify that anything Facebook claims to do behind the scenes is true?
- bertil 4y agoYou can ask people who left. I wouldn't leak documents because that cause a lot of collateral damage.