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It seems like people aren’t consciously aware of both how easy it is to game online platforms and how distorted our perception of numbers are online. You can m
by gochi 3y ago
It seems like people aren’t consciously aware of both how easy it is to game online platforms and how distorted our perception of numbers are online.
You can make the tiniest issue seem like a massive global concern without much effort, better yet enlist your friends and you can get the issue trending on other sites too because now lazy orgs have no problem using Reddit as a source. It’s of course not just Reddit, every platform has deep problems with people gaming their prevention systems, bot farms, trading accounts, and so on. That’s before you get into groups/corporations actively trying to push a very specific narrative in an organized effort.
It plays into the second thing I mentioned which was the distortion of numbers. The way we perceive stats online is very interesting, in that 2000 followers is a tiny insignificant thing, but 2000 upvotes is a major thread. This general distortion makes it very difficult imo for people to really grasp when something online is “real”.
So I get why some just opt out and view online life as just a funny thing irrelevant to reality. It’s kind of easier that way.
- steveBK123 3y agoA good reminder that "Twitter isn't real life" as the saying goes
- steveBK123 3y agoAs a counterpoint to my own point - if you live in just the right bubble in BK/SF/DC, Twitter and real life might feel similar enough. If you find this to be true, please talk to some normal people & touch grass. I've seen it happen.
- brightlancer 3y agoIME the bubbles are common across large cities -- and because they're bubbles, "normal people" are all inside the bubble while outside the bubble is only Bad People™.
- EA-3167 3y agoWithout getting into politically sensitive specifics, I have a friend (offline and on) who for years believed that the attitudes offline were radically different from what they were, based on their experiences online. Then they'd run into the offline reality and become genuinely upset, thinking that they were just surrounded by awful people. In the end they moved to a place they believed would be more accepting, only to find pretty much identical attitudes. All because they slowly, over years, curated their online experience to the point that they truly believed it reflected some real offline. I'm not a HUGE fan of stand up comedy, but the line, "Twitter isn't a real place" is something people need to fully internalize.
- taeric 3y agoInteresting to consider, as I do think that is accurate. But I also think people are more accepting in person than they are anywhere else. There is an odd barrier that the "other" group is always disconnected. If you are there talking to them, you must not be truly the other group.