Re:Yes, social media is undermining democracy
by Karrot_Kream on Thursday July 28, 2022 @04:20PM
(#32269621)
Yes and different cultures have different appetites for these vices. For example, in East Asia it's much more acceptable to gamble than it is in most Western countries. In most of Europe it's more acceptable to do drugs than it is in the US, and the US finds it much more acceptable to do drugs than East Asia does. In East Asia it's common to be openly drunk, at night, in public. In the US it's much more acceptable to enjoy firearms than it is in Europe or East Asia.
There's no easy answer to "this is toxic, we should ban it." Everyone has a different definition of toxic. Cultures form around different norms. Social media, like HN, spans multiple continents and cultures. I don't think you'll ever be able to get all of the userbase of any of these sites to agree on what is toxic and what is not.
I'm of the opinion that the user should be able to:
1. Audit their algorithmic recommender to see which bin they're bucketed into.
2. Adjust the weights on the recommender
But anything more, any form of broad agreement on toxicity, is asking for humans around the world to land at a single definition of what is good and what is bad.
I don't think it's that hard to differentiate between things people do for enjoyment that they think of as a positive influence, and addictive substances that can fleetingly make people "feel better" but are extremely harmful.
Most addicts may say they enjoy getting high, while even simultaneously talking about how drugs have ruined their lives. The fact that social media companies have hacked the same brain pathways doesn't mean the answer should be "it's fine, they all like it!"