4 ms·
I don't think you get radicalized by social networks alone. Usually things like economic distress, mental health issues, (missing?) social life irl are much big
by super256 4y ago
I don't think you get radicalized by social networks alone. Usually things like economic distress, mental health issues, (missing?) social life irl are much bigger factors here. But yes, if you are already leaning towards it, the internet can probably reinforce any kind of extreme beliefs, as they usually provide simple solutions for complex issues.
- woodruffw 4y agoI understand the distinction you’re making, but I think the “radicalization” characterization is appropriate: my experience is that Facebook-exposed relatives place both more and more extreme value on policies that they might otherwise have. Were they primed by other sources of media and culture exposure? Absolutely; what distinguishes Facebook is its place in the timeline, and the abundance of evidence that radicalization broadly tracks with social media engagement.
- acdha 4y agoYeah, Facebook really turned things up in my experience with the constant 24x7 promotion of increasingly extreme content. Fox News has limited hours in the day to produce new content and some editorial restraint, whereas Facebook would cheerfully take someone who was normally at, say, turn of the century WSJ-level conservative content and feed them stuff which Limbaugh wouldn’t have touched. After a while, they start thinking that’s normal.