Would you totally remove social media or improve it somehow?

[wolffanghameha]

I'd like to ban it, particularly mass social media (not small forums), but I know it has valuable uses too. It's just that it overstays its welcome and replaces in-person and more meaningful interaction - it should only be a supplement, not a replacement. Everything is an app now, everything is online (government departments, banking, therapy) - it's removed a lot of the normal interaction people used to have, which in itself was healthy but also sometimes led to deeper relationships.
You also get opinions or behaviours that are formed detached from the full human experience - people judging each other based on internet snapshots or lack of empathy because people don't have to deal with a real person and thus don't tap into some parts of their brain when interacting - obviously not everything between people can be conveyed in words. Eg caring body language with a few simple words can be more emotionally imactful than lots of the "correct words" without the body language. Our brains evolved for seeing each other's faces, hearing human voices and for in-person interaction - our brains have circuitry that's there specifically to recognise human faces.

If I'm trying to think of societal solutions...there should be more offline stuff to do again, particularly repeat activities. Part of what'll get people offline more is people having more disposable income, so they don't care as much about saving money by getting free entertainment or interaction online. I've wondered if part of the CoL issues have been caused by people getting complacent about rectifying CoL factors (eg housing supply, wage growth), because they have access to cheap entertainment at home, so can just "make do" as their disposable income dwindles down and as a result don't make noise about it until the problem has got further along.
I'd like to see the mainstream media like BBC stop making articles based on social media posts or about popular Tiktok stars - stop normalising it as part of mainstream culture.

 

[khukurikoo]

You do understand that if you were at work, and you started yelling about how “Hitler was right” or whatever it is you want to say, you would get fired and it would not be an infringement on your first amendment rights?

Similarly, if you were yelling that at the supermarket, and your employer found out about it, they would also fire you for that.

So you can go on social media and say all the racist shit you want to say, but your employer firing your for it isn’t a freedom of speech issue. Conversely, if you were arrested or fined, that would be a free speech issue.

Yeah I’m well aware corporate rule has always superseded the bill of rights and it goes beyond free speech. But it also goes beyond the racism buzzword and applies to those with certain political leanings, medical industry criticism, religious criticism, criticism of educational policies, and criticism on government policy as well. Shutting down opinions has no place in a free society.

 

[cincymma79]

Shit can be poison just have to remember that Theo people spending the most time on it are mentally ill, so don’t waste your time on them. Use it for what you got it for. Watching videos of hobbies that interest you. Connecting with friends over shit that actually matters.

 

[TeTe]

I guess if you count Reddit as social media, I would say that I do get some valuable use out of it.

But I also like the anonymity of it all.

 

[Ezekiel 25:17]

Get rid of it. Its a cancerous plague, spreading at a rapid pace and wreaking havoc on peoples minds. Ive noticed less interactions with people just cause im not on any of the platforms. Calling someone is no longer the primary means of communication. Its communicating through these platforms. Invites are sent using these things now. People are so concerned about keeping up with it that its virtially taken over their lives. They cant stop their need to go on there and seek out more likes and views somehow. Gain more of a following. Its like a modern twilight zone episode in constant progress.

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

If you had the power to remove or eradicate social media, would you do it?

Or instead make it better? If there is a way, of course.

Thoughts?

Voted remove but wattsapp is merely a messaging app to me

 

[fingercuffs]

Get rid of it. Its a cancerous plague, spreading at a rapid pace and wreaking havoc on peoples minds. Ive noticed less interactions with people just cause im not on any of the platforms. Calling someone is no longer the primary means of communication. Its communicating through these platforms. Invites are sent using these things now. People are so concerned about keeping up with it that its virtially taken over their lives. They cant stop their need to go on there and seek out more likes and views somehow. Gain more of a following. Its like a modern twilight zone episode in constant progress.

You don't move much, do you?
Prime example of why Facebook is wonderful. Husband's family is gigantic, his niece gave birth to a now perfect little girl but had so many tubes hanging out of her and so many heart surgeries that texting all of us or phoning was the last thing she needed. Putting updates on Facebook which takes seconds so she was keeping us informed was brilliant for her.

 

[Jack Reacheround]

Yeah I’m well aware corporate rule has always superseded the bill of rights and it goes beyond free speech. But it also goes beyond the racism buzzword and applies to those with certain political leanings, medical industry criticism, religious criticism, criticism of educational policies, and criticism on government policy as well. Shutting down opinions has no place in a free society.

It has nothing to do with “corporate rule.” Corporate rule is what we are seeing today. It’s oligarchy, plutocracy, etc.

But these are two different scenarios.

Just like how you can’t tell your boss he’s a piece of shit m, and still keep your job, you also can’t express other opinions that your boss may have a problem with. Or he will fire you. And they may even be opinions he secretly agrees with. But if they’re unpopular, and you are associated with his business, then he wouldn’t want you tainting his business’s image.

You do not have to work there. You can work somewhere else. But when you sign on the dotted line, you agree to rules of conduct. Just like when you sign up for sherdog. You are agreeing to their terms of service. If you break them by saying racist shit, they can ban you and it has nothing to do with free speech (j/k, I’ve never seen sherdog ban any racists).

It is not a free speech issue until the government takes action against you. Similarly, if you say stupid shit, everyone shouting you down is also not impinging on your right to free speech. You have every right to say it. And everyone else has every right to tell you what a shithead you are for saying it.

It blows my mind that people can’t understand this stuff

 

[Ezekiel 25:17]

Get rid of it. Its a cancerous plague, spreading at a rapid pace and wreaking havoc on peoples minds. Ive noticed less interactions with people just cause im not on any of the platforms. Calling someone is no longer the primary means of communication. Its communicating through these platforms. Invites are sent using these things now. People are so concerned about keeping up with it that its virtially taken over their lives. They cant stop their need to go on there and seek out more likes and views somehow. Gain more of a following. Its like a modern twilight zone episode in constant progress.

You don't move much, do you?
Prime example of why Facebook is wonderful. Husband's family is gigantic, his niece gave birth to a now perfect little girl but had so many tubes hanging out of her and so many heart surgeries that texting all of us or phoning was the last thing she needed. Putting updates on Facebook which takes seconds so she was keeping us informed was brilliant for her.

Dont get me wrong, its a great tool for communicating, but for every positive theres about 5 negatives. Social media as a whole is an addiction of the worst kind. People cant stop once they are on. Constantly glued and feverishly searching for acceptance. Sad thing is that kids are becoming attached to these platforms as well. Studies have already shown very negative imapcts due to consistent usage of sm and moving forward, things will only get worse. The fake news and all the ai generated bs just adds to the insanity, especially on facebook.

So for as much good as it offers, I believe the cons greatly outweigh the pros.

 

[William Huggins]

Remove comments and likes on pictures, remove pornography from social media sites and keep it on porn sites, take away the ability to link to other sites.

Remove algorithms down to the very basic, you need to look for something first to get other suggestions and then that only happens once per search......

 

[Jesus X]

If we didn't have social media we wouldn't have street takeovers or these mobs of looters.

 

[William Huggins]

Horrible idea.

Humans are fundamentally very social, and very tribal. And what that means is that if you voice an opinion which goes against the consensus of the tribe, you risk ostracization from the group.

This has a number of horrible consequences, including self-censorship to avoid upsetting the group.

Anonymity is what permits people to share contentious ideas without risk of social ostracization.

Anonymity also enables shitty behaviour that can damage society.........

But what's more important? You or society?

 

[whocares]

The whole thing is just another passing fad of contemporary culture that will inevitably become a relic of the past as technology continues to make old tech, related culture and customs obsolete, as it has done with every other social trend of the times that is now long gone. We don't have to do anything about it, it has it's own lifespan that is totally organic. The entire model of what is considered traditional social media is at least halfway through it's culturally relevant lifespan already and for all its virtues it has so many toxic elements that many people are already completely done with it. In the past 5 - 8 years there has been a sizable exodus and moving away from this form of communication and interaction for a lot of people, to the point that is has quickly become socially accpetable irl to not have anything to do with any to all of the major platforms. As working musicians we have no choice but to keep some presence on social media just from a business perspective, but I even know working musicians who refuse to be a part of it, and they don't get ostracized or lose work because it. There are simply so many other readily available options for communication and transfer of information now.

The internet is, has and always will be much larger than a handful of relevant social media sites, and it will continue to evolve. Culturally, trends roll in like cumulonimbus formations and seemingly envelop the entire environment and landscape for those moments in time when they are present, but they inevitiably dissipate until the next thing comes along. What you're going to see as a natural evolution of SM is that it will change drastically in nature from what it started as (which has already happened, with fb for example being much more geared towards groups and less towards "friend" driven interaction) in order to retain users, but ultimately taking the same route that mesage boards did. There will be people who will use them forever, as well as deeply devoted brand whores, but they will just be niche platforms for the people who choose them. Modern tech and the nature of how algortihyms work has already turned society into a deepy niche driven culture. Everyone has an extremely personalized virtual experience now and people go to the places that their interests take them. The platforms that host those things are ultimately irrelevant, disposable and their replacements inevitable.

 

[Berserker13]

ban OF etc

 

[EndlessCritic]

Anonymity also enables shitty behaviour that can damage society.........

But what's more important? You or society?

Self censorship causes incredibly bad status quos to remain in force that cause significant damage to society.

Your suggestion that there is some kind of inverse correlation between anonymity and the good of society is absolutely rejected as false.

 

[Takes Two To Tango]

The whole thing is just another passing fad of contemporary culture that will inevitably become a relic of the past as technology continues to make old tech, related culture and customs obsolete, as it has done with every other social trend of the times that is now long gone. We don't have to do anything about it, it has it's own lifespan that is totally organic. The entire model of what is considered traditional social media is at least halfway through it's culturally relevant lifespan already and for all its virtues it has so many toxic elements that many people are already completely done with it. In the past 5 - 8 years there has been a sizable exodus and moving away from this form of communication and interaction for a lot of people, to the point that is has quickly become socially accpetable irl to not have anything to do with any to all of the major platforms. As working musicians we have no choice but to keep some presence on social media just from a business perspective, but I even know working musicians who refuse to be a part of it, and they don't get ostracized or lose work because it. There are simply so many other readily available options for communication and transfer of information now.

The internet is, has and always will be much larger than a handful of relevant social media sites, and it will continue to evolve. Culturally, trends roll in like cumulonimbus formations and seemingly envelop the entire environment and landscape for those moments in time when they are present, but they inevitiably dissipate until the next thing comes along. What you're going to see as a natural evolution of SM is that it will change drastically in nature from what it started as (which has already happened, with fb for example being much more geared towards groups and less towards "friend" driven interaction) in order to retain users, but ultimately taking the same route that mesage boards did. There will be people who will use them forever, as well as deeply devoted brand whores, but they will just be niche platforms for the people who choose them. Modern tech and the nature of how algortihyms work has already turned society into a deepy niche driven culture. Everyone has an extremely personalized virtual experience now and people go to the places that their interests take them. The platforms that host those things are ultimately irrelevant, disposable and their replacements inevitable.

Very well said, but I suggest you put what you wrote in 4 paragraphs if you can. It would be easier to read, but thanks for that insight.

 

[William Huggins]

Self censorship causes incredibly bad status quos to remain in force that cause significant damage to society.

Your suggestion that there is some kind of inverse correlation between anonymity and the good of society is absolutely rejected as false.

Do you have a source on that?

What status quos are you referring too? And what significant damage?

Rejected as false by whom?

 

[MLarson]

Get rid of it society would be off without it.

 

[EndlessCritic]

Do you have a source on that?

What status quos are you referring too? And what significant damage?

Rejected as false by whom?

Source: Literally the parable of the Emperor Has No Clothes.

 

[khukurikoo]

It has nothing to do with “corporate rule.” Corporate rule is what we are seeing today. It’s oligarchy, plutocracy, etc.

But these are two different scenarios.

Just like how you can’t tell your boss he’s a piece of shit m, and still keep your job, you also can’t express other opinions that your boss may have a problem with. Or he will fire you. And they may even be opinions he secretly agrees with. But if they’re unpopular, and you are associated with his business, then he wouldn’t want you tainting his business’s image.

You do not have to work there. You can work somewhere else. But when you sign on the dotted line, you agree to rules of conduct. Just like when you sign up for sherdog. You are agreeing to their terms of service. If you break them by saying racist shit, they can ban you and it has nothing to do with free speech (j/k, I’ve never seen sherdog ban any racists).

It is not a free speech issue until the government takes action against you. Similarly, if you say stupid shit, everyone shouting you down is also not impinging on your right to free speech. You have every right to say it. And everyone else has every right to tell you what a shithead you are for saying it.

It blows my mind that people can’t understand this stuff

It has nothing to do with corporate rule. Then you go on to explain codes of conduct and terms of service. ie: corporate rule lol

Yeah I know all that. The topic is not what is, but what ought to be as an improvement. Free speech is paramount in a free society. No social media platforms should censor speech and ideas. Regardless of the vague labels that have many interpretations associated with them.