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Comment on Study: Social media probably can’t be fixed

gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

first of all, it’s a broad overgeneralization to assume that all social media is created with the intention to manipulate people. there was honest people running social media, but it’s long past. (in the corporate domain)

social media can be useful if it presents non-emotional, non-brigading content. rational discourse is one of the valuable options possible. throwing away the whole internet because Xitter sucks is throwing away the baby with the bathwater.
but yes, social media is the new Volksempfänger and manipulates people (social engineering)

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DSTGU@sopuli.xyz ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
No social media was created to manipulate people. (Most) social media is a business, optimised to make money. You make money by showing people ads. You can show more ads to people if they stay on the platform longer. You can make people stay longer by engaging them emotionally. End of conspiracy…

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- Doomsider@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Facebook got their seed money from Peter Thiel. They also employ a lot of ex CIA. So not sure about the no conspiracy thing.
  
  Also the millions they take in creating targeted political ads in order to manipulate their users and influence elections isn’t a conspiracy. How they met with the President, kissed his ring, and then went all in on right wing content.
  
  Yeah no conspiracy here, just keep walking
  
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- gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  also propaganda is just political ads
  
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stickly@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
But it’s not possible to get unbiased content on the internet. Everything exists with an agenda behind it, for the sole reason that putting anything on it is going to constantly cost money.

This wasn’t a huge deal when individuals were paying to host and share content to a small audience, it was a small amount of money and you could see their motives clearly (a forum for a hobby, a passion project, an online store, etc…).

Social media is different because it presents itself as a public forum where anything can be shared and hosted (for free) to as many people as you want. But they’re still footing a very large bill and the wide net of content makes their motives completely opaque. Nobody cares that much about the headaches of maintaining a free and open public forum, and any profit motive is just another way to sell manipulation.

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- gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  yeah the commercialization of the internet is the problem, 100%. if it were hobby projects, it wouldn’t suck so hard.
  
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zarkanian@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

rational discourse is one of the valuable options possible.

Yeah, can’t say that I’ve seen a lot of that on social media.

You don’t need social media to do rational discourse, anyway. All you need is two-way communication, a problem that the Internet solved long before any Facebooks or Twitters popped up. You can have rational discourse on IRC, an email list, or even through instant messaging.

throwing away the whole internet because Xitter sucks is throwing away the baby with the bathwater.

I know you’re being hyperbolic here, but unfortunately there are a lot of people now who really do see social media as “the whole Internet”. And they have thrown a lot away as a result.

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- person420@lemmynsfw.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  
  rational discourse on IRC
  
  Hahahahahahahaha
  
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  - gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    depends on who you’re talking to, and in which rooms.
    
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fyzzlefry@retrolemmy.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
But that’s not profitable.

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- gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  well i guess we’d have a better time thinking about non-profitable alternatives, then.
  
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Bloomcole@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
When it reaches a large enough audience, the regime takes control.
They don’t even hide it.
Lemmy for now is not important enough.

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