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Yeah, I think the process of socializing, especially in person, leverages some kind of hardware acceleration that we all have and counteracts these gaps in our

Yeah, I think the process of socializing, especially in person, leverages some kind of hardware acceleration that we all have and counteracts these gaps in our security, but the moment people get online all of a sudden all that biology just goes out the window. Just imagine, for example, the in-person equivalent of a YT conspiracy video. It would be some motor-mouth at a party who traps you in a corner to tell you all about how the field of archaeology is an elaborate hoax meant to keep us from finding out the "truth". You would basically smile and node, or maybe even humor them for a second, but the moment you get a whiff that there is an unlimited stream of this stuff you would look for the nearest exit. Videos that play on people's insecurities would just be that friend in your group who's the emotional vampire, that always requires a tag team to manage. And yet, as soon as these personalities take their form online, we find them interesting, irresistible even. Like, "But, this guy says that giants used to walk the earth and the fact that all pyramids look the same can't be just a coincidence.", and the next thing you know you find a community among others and some people get completely swallowed by one grift or another. I guess this kind of thing has been happening for a while too, with TV, it's just become a lot more effective now with networked computers.

parasti 3y ago
Worth pointing out that modern social media is built on maximum-engagement, more-of-the-same recommendation algorithms that are a perfect fit for spreading these kinds of content. If you're unaware of this and interact with it, you'll soon be made to feel (by the algorithm) like everyone on Youtube or Twitter is talking about it.
2OEH8eoCRo0 3y ago
"It's not what you say, it's how you say it." IRL I can read if my words offended or if you're confused and I can clarify. There is facial expressions, body language, and intonation. Even if someone isn't speaking they are sending signals about how the information was received. The information content is dwarfed by this "metadata". IRL you can be sure the person speaking is a human being. This is all so automatic that we take it for granted as window dressing that isn't important when in fact it's most important.

parasti 3y ago

Worth pointing out that modern social media is built on maximum-engagement, more-of-the-same recommendation algorithms that are a perfect fit for spreading these kinds of content. If you're unaware of this and interact with it, you'll soon be made to feel (by the algorithm) like everyone on Youtube or Twitter is talking about it.

2OEH8eoCRo0 3y ago

"It's not what you say, it's how you say it." IRL I can read if my words offended or if you're confused and I can clarify. There is facial expressions, body language, and intonation. Even if someone isn't speaking they are sending signals about how the information was received. The information content is dwarfed by this "metadata". IRL you can be sure the person speaking is a human being. This is all so automatic that we take it for granted as window dressing that isn't important when in fact it's most important.