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How much is selection effects and negative feedback? As online discourse gets worse, calm and sane people are more likely to drop out, leaving the extreme peopl

• waboremo 4y ago
  Even for the calm/sane, they too gravitate towards negative content. It's entertaining, it can make them feel better about themselves temporarily, they can use it for cheap content for validation. Social feeds reinforce all of these layers. We as humans also exaggerate negativity, you can read 100 positive comments, they will never have as much impact as that 1 negative one. This is a core component as to why negativity fuels itself. There isn't a lack of positivity online, you can find it very easily in huge abundance, it's just not as viral.
  • richk449 4y ago
    I agree entirely. It’s not just a feedback loop, there is an underlying amplifier.
• mrweasel 4y ago
  Yeah, I pretty much dropped of a number of platforms, like Reddit, because they have become overrun by people with depression (or supposed depressions) who will use any type of online input field as a way to offload on random stranger. I get that it's because many of them can't afford professional help, but damn that's asking a lot of someone who is just trying to debate the fine points of asian cooking or watch a silly take on yesterdays news.