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You don't think all those other issues are related to the rise of the big tech industry in the US? Big tech has absolute control over messaging and distributio

You don't think all those other issues are related to the rise of the big tech industry in the US? Big tech has absolute control over messaging and distribution of messaging in the US. They are gatekeepers of information and dictators of what information you see. The rise of polarization in the United States is directly correlated with the rise of big tech. It's going to be hard to solve all the problems you mentioned while big tech continues to build platforms that are inherently designed to rip us apart. Engagement at all costs even if the cost is our basic ways of life.

bastardoperator 4y ago
No, I don't think that at all. A lot of these issues pre-date big tech. I don't think you actually read the article. Explain to me how Apple is ripping us apart by not allowing other payment platforms on the App store and how being able to pay for in-app purchases through PayPal will make everything right again?
jjk166 4y ago
> Big tech has absolute control over messaging and distribution of messaging in the US. If Fox Corporation wants to air something on its cable news station, or if Warner Bros Discovery wants to put something on CNN's website, or if the New York Times wants to print something on its front page, which big tech company can stop them? While a growing number of people get news from alternative sources enabled by some big tech companies, the traditional distribution channels still exist and are pretty much unpenetrated by these competitors. Meanwhile, the polarization we see now started developing long before any of the big tech players became powerful, and indeed before the internet even existed. There are numerous factors influencing the increase in polarizations, such as the decay of traditional social institutions that allowed people of varying beliefs to regularly interact with each other and give people something to talk about besides politics, a shift in political strategy in the late 20th century to make greater use of public opinion polling and focus on more devisive issues, socioeconomic changes that have shifted the balance of power between various groups meaning old political coalitions that maintained common ground have become unworkable, and a general stagnation in society that has driven many to anger and despair. Most tech giants don't particularly desire such polarization. Zuckerberg certainly didn't set out to build the optimal platform for middle aged women to share conspiracy theories. The fact that despite best efforts pretty much every internet platform's algorithm converges towards polarizing content means either no one knows how to make an internet platform that isn't toxic, or no one actually wants such a platform. Either way, any attempt to remedy polarization by regulating big tech is doomed to failure. If we can't find a way to solve the important problems while our society is polarized, they're not going to get solved at all.

bastardoperator 4y ago

No, I don't think that at all. A lot of these issues pre-date big tech. I don't think you actually read the article. Explain to me how Apple is ripping us apart by not allowing other payment platforms on the App store and how being able to pay for in-app purchases through PayPal will make everything right again?

jjk166 4y ago

> Big tech has absolute control over messaging and distribution of messaging in the US. If Fox Corporation wants to air something on its cable news station, or if Warner Bros Discovery wants to put something on CNN's website, or if the New York Times wants to print something on its front page, which big tech company can stop them? While a growing number of people get news from alternative sources enabled by some big tech companies, the traditional distribution channels still exist and are pretty much unpenetrated by these competitors. Meanwhile, the polarization we see now started developing long before any of the big tech players became powerful, and indeed before the internet even existed. There are numerous factors influencing the increase in polarizations, such as the decay of traditional social institutions that allowed people of varying beliefs to regularly interact with each other and give people something to talk about besides politics, a shift in political strategy in the late 20th century to make greater use of public opinion polling and focus on more devisive issues, socioeconomic changes that have shifted the balance of power between various groups meaning old political coalitions that maintained common ground have become unworkable, and a general stagnation in society that has driven many to anger and despair. Most tech giants don't particularly desire such polarization. Zuckerberg certainly didn't set out to build the optimal platform for middle aged women to share conspiracy theories. The fact that despite best efforts pretty much every internet platform's algorithm converges towards polarizing content means either no one knows how to make an internet platform that isn't toxic, or no one actually wants such a platform. Either way, any attempt to remedy polarization by regulating big tech is doomed to failure. If we can't find a way to solve the important problems while our society is polarized, they're not going to get solved at all.