5 ms·

What’s wrong with focusing on and promoting non-political ideas? The internet is saturated at this point. People need a break.

by cush 3y ago

mandmandam 3y ago
The internet is saturated with ridiculous caricatures of politics. These mostly existed before, but have been grossly exacerbated by algorithms which make people angry on purpose so as to 'drive engagement' (hmm). Facebook is now offering the 'cure' to a disease they spread themselves, for profit. And monetizing it, with ads from corporations who lobby heavily. This 'cure' is another series of steps toward complete disengagement with everything that might actually improve the lives of the 99% (ie, actual politics). Climate change is politics, inequality is politics, corruption is politics - all of it shoved under the rug in favor of yet more inane sports and celebrity trivia.
- cush 3y ago
  You’re confusing engagement with action. Nothing you mentioned will be solved with tweets.
  - mandmandam 3y ago
    Did I say that tweets alone solve anything?
    - cush 3y ago
      And...? You replied to me. I was talking about twitter.
      - mandmandam 3y ago
        [flagged]
        cush 3y ago
        All I said is people need a break. Chill out. The political polarization fueled by the internet stagnates the cooperation needed to affect climate change, inequality, and corruption.
        mandmandam 3y ago
        [flagged]
- ragequitta 3y ago
  If posting on twitter is your idea of how to get things done in politics (as many people believe) then it not being on twitter is a boon for us all. Actual civic engagement is what's needed, not posturing for your party (it's a lot like the sports you mentioned, root for your own team) via small text blurbs.
  - Given_47 3y ago
    Hm I never realized the parallel between politics and sports lol (and more than just the ra ra fandom sense). I think why I enjoy sports so much more than politics—my ministry is the NBA and WNBA—is that it’s inherently a game so you don’t impose any of the IRL stress politics does. And to elaborate on why I find them similar is that in sports, you take stock of the landscape, analyze your standing, and strategize on improving eg optimal use of resources. And those r true over stretches of years or during a single game. As the parent alluded to, Twitter is definitely not the place for this nuanced discourse and unfortunately any stereotypical nerd that would be more wont to honestly engage probably didn’t grow up playing a sport or at the very least not such a mainstream American sport like basketball and has no interest in the topic. But it’s whatever. I still find great joy theorizing, seeing the results of different implementations, being presented with ideas I hadn’t thought of (these r like lineup combos and play calls), team/player growth, etc
  - mandmandam 3y ago
    I guess the part where I'm confused is how you think de-platforming politics at mass population scale will increase civil engagement somehow. Like, isn't "small text blurbs" better than nothing? ... Do you think billionaires bought and crippled Twitter and Reddit for our sake? We recently got hard evidence that Facebook and Twitter censored true information at the White House's request; to drive people toward a desired political outcome... On Threads, that wouldn't even have been necessary. They just call any debate they don't like 'political', and de-platform it. Silent, and deadly. Reddit and Twitter have been suicided. That's not actually a boon, as toxic as they were pre-Musk and pre-SpezGate. Now a platform where political engagement is explicitly shadowbanned rises up to offer ever-more vacuous bullshit heavily dosed with pro-corporate propaganda, with the glimpses of substance all expressly filtered out. That's not a boon either, though that's what seems to be the spin. I do hope your optimism isn't misplaced. Maybe driving the engaged people toward defederated platforms will work out, and we can leave the sports-minded to their own devices - but realistically, those people will be weaponized against change even more easily once the agitators have been sectioned off. It's like the free speech zones Bush brought in - say whatever the fuck you like, in this little cage two miles from any TV cameras.

What’s wrong with focusing on and promoting non-political ideas? The internet is saturated at this point. People need a break.

by cush 3y ago

What’s wrong with focusing on and promoting non-political ideas? The internet is saturated at this point. People need a break.

mandmandam 3y ago

The internet is saturated with ridiculous caricatures of politics. These mostly existed before, but have been grossly exacerbated by algorithms which make people angry on purpose so as to 'drive engagement' (hmm). Facebook is now offering the 'cure' to a disease they spread themselves, for profit. And monetizing it, with ads from corporations who lobby heavily. This 'cure' is another series of steps toward complete disengagement with everything that might actually improve the lives of the 99% (ie, actual politics). Climate change is politics, inequality is politics, corruption is politics - all of it shoved under the rug in favor of yet more inane sports and celebrity trivia.

cush 3y ago
You’re confusing engagement with action. Nothing you mentioned will be solved with tweets.
- mandmandam 3y ago
  Did I say that tweets alone solve anything?
  - cush 3y ago
    And...? You replied to me. I was talking about twitter.
    - mandmandam 3y ago
      [flagged]
      - cush 3y ago
        All I said is people need a break. Chill out. The political polarization fueled by the internet stagnates the cooperation needed to affect climate change, inequality, and corruption.
        mandmandam 3y ago
        [flagged]
ragequitta 3y ago
If posting on twitter is your idea of how to get things done in politics (as many people believe) then it not being on twitter is a boon for us all. Actual civic engagement is what's needed, not posturing for your party (it's a lot like the sports you mentioned, root for your own team) via small text blurbs.
- Given_47 3y ago
  Hm I never realized the parallel between politics and sports lol (and more than just the ra ra fandom sense). I think why I enjoy sports so much more than politics—my ministry is the NBA and WNBA—is that it’s inherently a game so you don’t impose any of the IRL stress politics does. And to elaborate on why I find them similar is that in sports, you take stock of the landscape, analyze your standing, and strategize on improving eg optimal use of resources. And those r true over stretches of years or during a single game. As the parent alluded to, Twitter is definitely not the place for this nuanced discourse and unfortunately any stereotypical nerd that would be more wont to honestly engage probably didn’t grow up playing a sport or at the very least not such a mainstream American sport like basketball and has no interest in the topic. But it’s whatever. I still find great joy theorizing, seeing the results of different implementations, being presented with ideas I hadn’t thought of (these r like lineup combos and play calls), team/player growth, etc
- mandmandam 3y ago
  I guess the part where I'm confused is how you think de-platforming politics at mass population scale will increase civil engagement somehow. Like, isn't "small text blurbs" better than nothing? ... Do you think billionaires bought and crippled Twitter and Reddit for our sake? We recently got hard evidence that Facebook and Twitter censored true information at the White House's request; to drive people toward a desired political outcome... On Threads, that wouldn't even have been necessary. They just call any debate they don't like 'political', and de-platform it. Silent, and deadly. Reddit and Twitter have been suicided. That's not actually a boon, as toxic as they were pre-Musk and pre-SpezGate. Now a platform where political engagement is explicitly shadowbanned rises up to offer ever-more vacuous bullshit heavily dosed with pro-corporate propaganda, with the glimpses of substance all expressly filtered out. That's not a boon either, though that's what seems to be the spin. I do hope your optimism isn't misplaced. Maybe driving the engaged people toward defederated platforms will work out, and we can leave the sports-minded to their own devices - but realistically, those people will be weaponized against change even more easily once the agitators have been sectioned off. It's like the free speech zones Bush brought in - say whatever the fuck you like, in this little cage two miles from any TV cameras.