We can have democracy or we can have Facebook

Re:We can have democracy or we can have Facebook by visarga on Friday December 11, 2020 @10:17AM (#25386667)

The best thing for the people would be to re-assert control over what we see and how. That means a new level of control over the interface, filters and ranking of our feeds and search results.

Of course that would be the worst thing for Google, FB and Twitter (and their advertising clients) because they desire our attention more than anything.

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Re:We can have democracy or we can have Facebook by s1artibartfast on Friday December 11, 2020 @11:27AM (#25387490)

I think control and availability is the key. People have lost a lot of control over what they say, but how much they see it. The average US adult in 2020 spends 8+ hours consuming TV and web media.

Like a sugar addition, we evolved in an environment where information could mean the difference between life and death, so we are hardwired to seek it out.

It takes a huge amount of self control to turn off the screens, but it is the best, and possibly only path forward.

[ Parent | on HN ]