Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 1836562)

Correlation doesn't equal causation, Bucco, you know this.

According to the CDC, the youth suicide rate in this country increased by 56% between 2007 and 2017.
Social media predates the increase of the suicide rate by a decade. Facebook founded in 2004. MySpace 2003. Twitter, 2006. Social media certainly has contributed to the suicide rate, but it is not the singular cause of the increase. Remember 2007 was the year the Great Recession began. Millions of families went from prosperity to poverty overnight, lost their homes, their savings. Divorce rates went up as well, as a result. Social media didn't cause this. Corrupt bankers caused this. And that was a HUGE contributing factor to the increase in suicide rates in kids, who had to grow up in the midst of it all.

Americans are more politically divided than ever. We’re currently witnessing levels of social unrest not seen since the ‘60s (pick your century — 1960s or 1860s). And yet - Social media didn't exist in the 1960's or 1860's. They didn't have social media to propel their civil unrest. The difference between then and now is - now it happens instantaneously. Previously they had to take time to plan.


Income inequality has never been higher. Has it been lower? Are you able to point to a time when income inequality was lower, and say "yup - that's because there was no social media"? Or were there other reasons why it was lower (if it ever was lower)?

In Myanmar, military personnel used Facebook to incite genocide against ethnic minorities. That is an actual causation. So point taken on that one item, specifically.

Jeff Orlowski’s new documentary The Social Dilemma ... I haven't seen it, and don't have a Netflix account so I can't see it even if I wanted to, presently.

But there's no doubt in my mind, at all, that social media IS used to manipulate people's thinking. Thing is, so is ALL media. Why do you think there are 400,000 different brands of cereal? Why do you think most of them sell so well? What we call social media manipulation now, we used to call public relations then. Convincing people to your way of thinking, or to buy your product, or to believe your truth, or accept your lies - is EVERYTHING you see on TV that isn't livestreaming. If you aren't watching it happen live, you are being manipulated.

And - even if you ARE watching it live - the camera is manipulating you by making you see it from that very specific perspective, that angle, that lighting, that lens, that text scrolling across the bottom of the screen.

All media is manipulation of some kind or another. Social media has become a much more efficient vehicle for it, because it can be created in an instant and reach hundreds of millions of people at the same time, 24/7.

But no, social media manipulation is nothing new, and no one should be surprised by it. We learned how to manipulate our readers when I was a student of journalism in college, in the 1970's.

Originally Posted by davem4616 (Post 1833401)

some would say that we are already in a civil war....

sometimes ya gotta name it to claim it

Originally Posted by davem4616 (Post 1833401)

some would say that we are already in a civil war....

sometimes ya gotta name it to claim it

Originally Posted by Bucco (Post 1836521)

Facebook warned on Monday that it would block users and news organizations in Australia from sharing local and international news stories on its social network and Instagram if the country passed a proposed code of conduct aimed at curbing the power of Facebook and Google.

This from NY Times Australia

Nteresting how the world now works

Originally Posted by Bucco (Post 1833383)

To those who use social media often, i.e., Facebook, Google, etc. especially those who believe they are not being influenced by whatever platform they use, may I suggest the new documentary on Netflix, titled The Social Dilemma.

It is chilling, and reinforces the fear I have expressed on this site many times. People who work, or did work in the industry reflect on a number of things.

How you are manipulated, and you swear it is impossible. They show vignettes on how one action you make will define what you will see, no matter what you say or do.

Near the end of the documentary, each is asked what the future holds if we do not wake up soon, and the one that got to me was this......after hesitation thecanswer was...."in the short term, civil war"

This was written about the doc....

"Never before in history have 50 designers made decisions that would have an impact on two billion people,” says Tristan Harris, a former design ethicist at Google. Anna Lembke, an addiction expert at Stanford University, explains that these companies exploit the brain’s evolutionary need for interpersonal connection. And Roger McNamee, an early investor in Facebook, delivers a chilling allegation: Russia didn’t hack Facebook; it simply used the platform."

‘The Social Dilemma’ Review: Unplug and Run - The New York Times

Chilling but should be required watching for every person on the planet. If you feel this is much ado about nothing, or overblown, I say...you are wrong.

Please watch as the credits roll and those participating give suggestions.

Originally Posted by Ladygolfer93 (Post 1837985)

You are right on the mark. It's an addiction, I used to log in on this platform half a dozen times a year at one time, since I don't do Facebook, since so many activities shut down, I took to logging in most mornings with my coffee (no yoga class ! ). The way people talk to strangers on here is shocking, the nasty replies to people who ask a question, the disrespect for anyone else's opinion or beliefs, or even their religion. I realized this was getting to be a morning "habit" like the coffee and paper used to be. Then add in Alexa, cell phones, twitter, all of it..... I definitely think there is going to be a very steep price to pay.

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 1833951)

The media itself (Facebook and twitter) I don't feel have nefarious purposes in any of this. There's no conspiracy backed by Facebook to twist the minds of its members. However, their system works such that we are provided with content that we choose to prefer. So if I like reading things about puppies, the system will provide me with more puppy content to enjoy. If I prefer reading things that are pro-blue, I will be presented with more pro-blue things to read. And within that group of pro-blue things, will be anti-red things. Because pro-blue is not happy with red. They don't get along, the system knows this because the system exists to keep track of that kind of thing.

It's not any person in Facebook that says "hey let's make these people hate each other!" But rather, it's people hating each other, being provided with more ammunition to continue their hatred, because it's simply what floats their boat and the system has no emotional investment in either of them being right or wrong. It knows only that Joe likes Red and doesn't like Blue, and Sue likes Blue and doesn't like Red. It gives them what they want. That is its function.

If you don't want to be influenced by any one or other thing, then don't focus your interest on any one or other thing when you visit these media sites. If you want to very specifically avoid any one or other thing, it's very easy to do, on all of those media sites. You can put up an adblocker, AND on Facebook there's a thing called FBP, which stands for Facebook Purity. It's a very sophisticated totally independent filtering add-on, it's free, it's supported and updated regularly, and it does a great job.

The only political stuff I ever see on Facebook, is political stuff I WANT to see. And I can shut -that- stuff off with a click of the mouse, any time.

Originally Posted by Bucco (Post 1841409)

This is from 2018 but seems germaine today....


"Facebook on Tuesday began taking down pages affiliated with the "Proud Boys," a far-right organization whose members were allegedly involved in a violent fight in New York this month.

Pages on Facebook and Instagram that previously belonged to the group disappeared and instead showed messages saying they were not available. The social networking company confirmed the move and cited its policies against hate organizations and figures.

Several members of the Proud Boys were arrested this month, in the days after police said the group was involved in a fight with masked protesters belonging to the anti-fascist coalition Antifa. The fight occurred after Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes gave a speech on Manhattan’s Upper East Side."

Facebook removes pages belonging to far-right group '''Proud Boys'''

Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 1841421)

Wow. I didn't know who he was until I looked him up just now. He is sorta "anti-everything". We have some posters like that on here but I hear them called carmudgeons.

Gavin McInnes - Wikipedia

Originally Posted by Northwoods (Post 1838448)

I have both conservative and liberal friends on Facebook. I can tell you that I have seen a number of posts from conservative friends that were "blocked" by Facebook (they will not let you click through to the link). I have never seen any posts blocked by my liberal friends (and that includes a liberal friend that wanted our President to die).

I believe that if Facebook feels that a link is "false" that they should add a "bubble" that says there are alternate views of this link. But I don't think they should ever censor or determine what I should see. Isn't that what the first amendment is all about?

Originally Posted by Bucco (Post 1843856)

“Facebook said Tuesday it will ban any pages, groups, and Instagram accounts representing the conspiracy theory QAnon from its platform.

The move comes three years after the far-right conspiracy theory began. During those years QAnon adherents have embraced a number of different and often contradictory theories, but the basic false beliefs underlying QAnon are claims about a cabal of politicians and A-list celebrities engaging in child sex abuse, and a "deep state" effort to undermine POTUS Last year an FBI office warned that Q adherents are a domestic terrorism threat.

Facebook's move will be welcomed by some, but the platform has allowed the conspiracy to grow and spread for years.”




Three years later, Facebook says it will ban QAnon - CNN

Originally Posted by graciegirl (Post 1843883)

I have run into very few who believe that. I saw one the other day, but most of the many people I know, know better.