3 ms·

Another episode of "what convoluted way can we use tech to 'solve' a social issue that it clearly exacerbates to try and desperately keep the blind cult-like si

Another episode of "what convoluted way can we use tech to 'solve' a social issue that it clearly exacerbates to try and desperately keep the blind cult-like silicon valley version of techno-optimism alive for as long as possible, while ignoring the obvious disastrous social consequences" I'm pretty sure nobody 15 years ago would have uttered the phrase "opportunities for practising social skills are hard to come by". All social technology ignores our biological need for physical closeness and the severe negative outcomes to our brains and health when we don't have it. People who are so socially crippled that they would be considering this treatment are a symptom of destroyed communities, broken social cohesion, tech addiction and this overly popular brand of post-covid hermitism that seems popular on this site. These are social ills that all need to be tackled. Absolutely nothing about talking to an LLM will help,

Noumenon72 3y ago
A comparison to video games shows how hard it is to truly practice social skills. You can't play the same situation over and over, which is why it's easier to get better at small talk than confrontation. People don't want to reveal how they manipulate you, so schools can't teach about head tilting and brinksmanship. You have few trustworthy external evaluators, so you can come away from a conversation where you talked the entire time thinking you got a high score instead of a low one. The opportunities for using social skills to make a romantic connection are rare and you hardly ever even get to see how other people do it. Being able to act out scripts and get real feedback could be a tremendous benefit to the world. People who offend, withdraw, or blunder have existed since before techno-optimism. This is their chance to become better in a safe space without embarrassment.
- helboi4 3y ago
  I think most people who cannot learn most of these skills between the ages of 12-21 (when it's perfectly socially acceptable to fuck up to varying degrees, since literally everyone is learning), are probably neurodivergent. In which case they need to get a diagnosis, that will hopefully open them up to coaching by a human being. Perhaps something like this tech could be supplementary for some extreme cases there. Anyone who is not neurodivergent is just being overly self conscious if they think its not normal to blunder a lot even up to the age of 25. Such timid people will be actively crippled by staying indoors talking to a computer instead of participating in normal human developmental behaviour (otherwise known as interacting with other humans and fucking up a lot). I say this as someone who literally had no friends in high school and wasn't particularly fond of leaving my house because of it. I get accused of being some extreme extrovert so often here just for saying common sense things about how humans are social creatures and you really do have to go through these things.
  - selimthegrim 3y ago
    There are some societies where “fucking up a lot” isn’t an option - you get a bullet in the head.
theshackleford 3y ago
> I'm pretty sure nobody 15 years ago would have uttered the phrase "opportunities for practising social skills are hard to come by". You’d be wrong.
01HNNWZ0MV43FF 3y ago
> nobody 15 years ago would have uttered the phrase "opportunities for practising social skills are hard to come by" College was tough for me
- helboi4 3y ago
  I had no friends for the majority of high school. I still often find it hard to make friends. I would not have said I didn't have opportunities to practice social skills. Like, I still spoke to people every day. It might take some longer to learn than others but you just have to like, leave your house and have work/school and go to shops bro. There are opportunities everywhere. College gives you the most opportunities. If people in your class don't like you, there's like 200 social societies that you can join. You could even go and just talk to your professor about work. Your lack of opportunities and your lack of skills are two different issues. There is no lack of oppurtunity in college. The only people who actually lack oppurtunity for attempting to better their social skills are some disabled people.

Noumenon72 3y ago

A comparison to video games shows how hard it is to truly practice social skills. You can't play the same situation over and over, which is why it's easier to get better at small talk than confrontation. People don't want to reveal how they manipulate you, so schools can't teach about head tilting and brinksmanship. You have few trustworthy external evaluators, so you can come away from a conversation where you talked the entire time thinking you got a high score instead of a low one. The opportunities for using social skills to make a romantic connection are rare and you hardly ever even get to see how other people do it. Being able to act out scripts and get real feedback could be a tremendous benefit to the world. People who offend, withdraw, or blunder have existed since before techno-optimism. This is their chance to become better in a safe space without embarrassment.

helboi4 3y ago
I think most people who cannot learn most of these skills between the ages of 12-21 (when it's perfectly socially acceptable to fuck up to varying degrees, since literally everyone is learning), are probably neurodivergent. In which case they need to get a diagnosis, that will hopefully open them up to coaching by a human being. Perhaps something like this tech could be supplementary for some extreme cases there. Anyone who is not neurodivergent is just being overly self conscious if they think its not normal to blunder a lot even up to the age of 25. Such timid people will be actively crippled by staying indoors talking to a computer instead of participating in normal human developmental behaviour (otherwise known as interacting with other humans and fucking up a lot). I say this as someone who literally had no friends in high school and wasn't particularly fond of leaving my house because of it. I get accused of being some extreme extrovert so often here just for saying common sense things about how humans are social creatures and you really do have to go through these things.
- selimthegrim 3y ago
  There are some societies where “fucking up a lot” isn’t an option - you get a bullet in the head.

theshackleford 3y ago

> I'm pretty sure nobody 15 years ago would have uttered the phrase "opportunities for practising social skills are hard to come by". You’d be wrong.

01HNNWZ0MV43FF 3y ago

> nobody 15 years ago would have uttered the phrase "opportunities for practising social skills are hard to come by" College was tough for me

helboi4 3y ago
I had no friends for the majority of high school. I still often find it hard to make friends. I would not have said I didn't have opportunities to practice social skills. Like, I still spoke to people every day. It might take some longer to learn than others but you just have to like, leave your house and have work/school and go to shops bro. There are opportunities everywhere. College gives you the most opportunities. If people in your class don't like you, there's like 200 social societies that you can join. You could even go and just talk to your professor about work. Your lack of opportunities and your lack of skills are two different issues. There is no lack of oppurtunity in college. The only people who actually lack oppurtunity for attempting to better their social skills are some disabled people.