And yes, I’m aware of the irony of posting this on social media, but I truly think that it is an awful thing that has happened humanity.
And to be absolutely clear, I do acknowledge that there are benefits: it allows people who are distant to remain in touch, for example. Or it can be used to put out critical information (think COVID-19 for example).
But let’s face it — there’s another face to it also, one that brings out the worst of humanity. How far do you have to scroll on any platform before you find toxicity? Divisive, inflammatory comments that bring out the absolute worst in us. All because people have different opinions on any topic (the problem of course is not in people having different opinions, but in giving the masses the means to express their differing opinions is really what leads to too many civilised conversations descending into barbaric insults and word slinging. Try as hard as you like to disengage, friction will always produce heat.)
Moreover, how much misinformation has been spread on social media platforms over the years? I don’t think I need to say much more about that.
And to be clear: I’m not saying these issues and others are exclusive to social media — they certainly existed long before, perhaps even as early as when man first learned to communicate with one another — but the creation of social media is possibly the biggest chunk of fuel on the fire of discord, and regardless of where you go — whether it be Facebook, or Reddit, or Snapchat, or twitter, or YouTube, or Lemmy, or text messaging, or internet forums, or whatever other platforms exist out there, you will not find a platform that is not plagued — nay, riddled — with such awfulness. And no, I’m absolutely not saying that I myself have not played my fair part in toxicity because I have, but I’m willing to admit it. Are you?
Social media connects humans and humans are often bad. You're confusing the source with the technology used to connect them.
I think you're mistaken in thinking that "connection" in general is inherently neutral, and that the way that social media is implemented and must exist to survive is neutral.
I get that. I get that it’s the humans who are the core issue. What I’m staying is that social media provides a method or outlet for being vindictive (and that’s just one issue of social media. Others include data privacy, potential criminal activity etc.) in fact, I would argue that it is now the core outlet humans use that brings out the nastiness towards one another. And as I said in the post, no it isn’t the only outlet, it’s just a prominent one.
I do understand your point, it just feels like blaming cars for road rage. That being said, I think maybe we could say the corporations and billionaires are to blame for the algorithmic rage generation of the popular platforms but Lemmy exists without those algorithms so I feel like social media exists without it, the problem is, again, humans as most people just want that algorithmic rage. It always comes down to the human.
Yes but if cars didn’t exist, road rage would not exist (at least, not as we know it) regardless of whether the car was the root cause of road rage or not. You see my point: social media is a link in the chain that leads to toxicity, the same way that owning a car leads to road rage (as we experience it). All I’m saying is that social media is a bad invention not because it causes toxicity but because it exacerbates it by providing us with an outlet. I’m not saying you’re wrong btw, just clarifying
I think you're right that there's an accelerating effect. One of the cool things about the internet is that it allows people with niche interests to find each other and talk with each other. This can be really nice for people who like old board games or model trains or sexy animal costumes, but it can also foster communities for people whose identity is bound up in hating other people for their skin color, religion, sexuality, sexy animal costumes, etc. These hateful communities can reinforce beliefs and radicalize members. This sort of thing did happen before the internet, but I think it happens faster now.