Post AW6AtlCwCSU6IdJJlw by jimmygnarly@mastodon.online
(DIR) More posts by jimmygnarly@mastodon.online
(DIR) Post #ASj4wcaR9kcD7pK6nQ by tofugolem@mastodon.social
2023-02-16T04:07:51Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
Long ago, when social media was on the rise, I was a curmudgeon and stuck with Internet communities built around message boards.I remember reading alarming articles from digital civil rights activists such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation that the business model (collecting private data and using it to influence users) of many of those (then) new social media sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) made them an inherent threat to democracy.1/4
(DIR) Post #ASj4we7nRCtTtZwGQq by tofugolem@mastodon.social
2023-02-16T04:11:08Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
I wasn't on social media yet, and so didn't really pay much attention to those opinion pieces.Years later, I joined social media along with everyone else. I got permanently banned from Facebook for sharing a meme that criticized WW2 Nazis for killing civilians. I asked a moderator to check the ruling, and they confirmed that criticizing Nazis for killing civilians is indeed against Facebook's community standards, so I stopped using Facebook, but didn't delete the account.2/4
(DIR) Post #ASj4wegBNMOpcE1j1s by tofugolem@mastodon.social
2023-02-16T04:13:39Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Then Cambridge Analytica happened.People forget that Cambridge Analytica got in trouble because they didn't have permission to use some of the data they had access to. What they did with the data was exactly what Twitter and Facebook were designed to do. They just used it to push a political candidate instead of selling laundry detergent or graphics cards.Suddenly, I remembered those old op-ed pieces warning about social media and realized that I should have paid more attention.3/4
(DIR) Post #ASj4wgH5RdVuYyIiBs by tofugolem@mastodon.social
2023-02-16T04:15:30Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
As if all of that isn't bad enough, as if deliberately putting you in contact with hostile people isn't bad enough, but the overall design of social media uses Skinner box techniques to addict you. Those likes and shares are randomized reward schedules that suck you in like the pigeon endlessly pushing that button whether it was hungry or not.Here, those likes and shares are called favorites and boosts, but the effect is the same. Remember to take breaks.4/4
(DIR) Post #ASjFL11QxMzPOzDnbU by McCulloch@mstdn.ca
2023-02-16T04:36:01Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@tofugolemCambridge Analytica was the moment I quit facebook, but started using twitter more – as if that was really any different.Musk dementing twitter even more than it was brought me here.I will have to remember to be be careful not to watch my notification tray too closely when posting, because yes, social media is absolutely addicting.
(DIR) Post #ASjFM00qCBlCYoPgeG by benda@stoners.social
2023-02-16T05:04:16Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@tofugolem I still had to like that last comment, sorry comrade. and happy new instance day!likes usually make people feel good. like a little encouragement. also an indication of seeing the comment. I think it's slightly less evil here bc it's not pushing comments higher in any algorithm.
(DIR) Post #AW6AtlCwCSU6IdJJlw by jimmygnarly@mastodon.online
2023-02-26T02:15:36Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
@tofugolem you're gonna love this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYYXTGyvDmQ&t=254s " twttr mvsk court exhibits pdf" goggl itBTW Tofu Golem is a dope name * gg!
(DIR) Post #AW6Atlrhkt5uL4NsJc by tofugolem@mastodon.social
2023-02-26T02:18:49Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@jimmygnarly I can't decide which is better: watching Elon set giant piles of his money on fire in an epic display of incompetence, Muskrats trying to convince me that he's only pretending to be an idiot as part of a super clever plan to manipulate stock prices, or conservatives trying to convince me that watching all of this is making me sad.