Re:I deleted my Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram accounts, ...
by dgfitz on Wednesday June 24, 2020 @08:00PM
(#23635284)
The term "social media" seems to have arrived a good time after forums did on the internet. I remember standing up websites and paying for a vBulletin license in order to add forum functionality a decade before I first heard the term "social media." I could entertain the idea that those old forums were "social media" the whole time, but they sure didn't feel like the cesspool of anger that twitter and facebook seem to represent.
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Re:I deleted my Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram accounts, ...
by bigbugbag on Wednesday June 24, 2020 @10:54PM
(#23636405)
The explanation is simple, twitter and facebook rely on ads to make profit. to maximize their profit they need to have people spend as much time as possible on their websites.
The most efficient way is to infuriate people. Hence the business model of these companies is to have people outraged and infuriated.
This is a similar strategy to using the media spread fear so people consume more. Simply said someone who's happy, live a fulfilling life free of worry does not feel the urge to buy and consume.
Re:I deleted my Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram accounts, ...
by pfundstein on Wednesday June 24, 2020 @08:20PM
(#23635403)
> but they sure didn't feel like the cesspool of anger that twitter and facebook seem to represent
Not that that's a defining feature of social media (at least it shouldn't be).
But I would say that traditional forums and ones like this and Slashdot fall within this (somewhat arbitrary) definition:
> Websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.