Poll: Social Media: Good or Bad? (no politics)
- Thread starter W800
- Start date
augustiron
2fast 2live 2young 2die
Plz define the boundaries of " social media" as you mean them.
Is barf a social media?
Is barf a social media?
W800
Noob
BARF is social media for the purpose of this poll, as are all vBulletin forums, and similar, regardless of content.
However, my main focus would be Web 2.0 social media, e.g., Facebook, Twitter, IG, TikTok, Parlor, Quora, Yelp, Reddit, etc. . . .
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Abacinator
Unholy Blasphemies
It's not inherently bad, but it can absolutely be used for nefarious purposes.
W800
Noob
Good for deep thinkers.
Bad for the shallow ones.
Barf is exempt
I agree!!!
There are more shallow thinkers than deep thinkers. And everyone has virtual megaphones.
W800
Noob
I agree. I think also that "the medium is the message" also applies. Social media (and the internet in general) reifies a new type of reality into existence.
Baudrillard called it the hyper real. The internet doesn't reflect reality the way that a map reflects the land. Rather, to many people - the internet itself is their reality.
W800
Noob
I think this is true. My concern is that three companies control the mass of the world's communications now. I think China (Baidu) and Russia (VK) were smart and saw this coming.
It's a tool. In particular, a communications tool. It can be used for very good things, and it can be used for very bad things. It helps me stay connected with my friends and family now that I live several thousand miles away from them. It puts me in contact with thousands of professionals who are in my same field of work (and other hobbies and interests) that I can tap into when I run into trouble. Those are good things.
But it can also be used to manipulate that information. Manipulated information can be used to manipulate people. It can allow vulnerable people to be drawn into a conspiratorial web of deception. It can create more isolation instead of community. That's bad.
It's a tool, and a very powerful one. Are guns bad? Are sous vide cookers good? They're tools.
I haven't watched social dilemma yet. I need to.
But it can also be used to manipulate that information. Manipulated information can be used to manipulate people. It can allow vulnerable people to be drawn into a conspiratorial web of deception. It can create more isolation instead of community. That's bad.
It's a tool, and a very powerful one. Are guns bad? Are sous vide cookers good? They're tools.
I haven't watched social dilemma yet. I need to.
msethhunter
Well-known member
Social media, in general, isn't good. For most people, it gives their brains that quick dopamine hit, which makes it addictive.
wazzuFreddo
WuTang is 4 the children
I recently completely deleted my Facebook account, not just deactivated. What a great feeling it is to be rid of that time waster.
byke
Well-known member
Agree with Chris/Rod/Tyler. It isn't inherently good/bad. It's a tool, a mirror, a window, a rock lying on the ground, a gun in a case, a book on a shelf, etc. The fact that you need a person to do something with it before you can try to determine whether it's good or bad is exactly how you know it has nothing to do with the item itself.
Further, I think it's terrible for people to blame social media for anything, because it absolves the people that causes people to ask whether or not it's good/bad. Reminds me of the old days when "the drink" would "get you". Go ahead and get hammered and kill someone, "ohhhh such a shame, the drink got him, damn that drink!". It creates a new victim, that isn't a victim at all.
Further, I think it's terrible for people to blame social media for anything, because it absolves the people that causes people to ask whether or not it's good/bad. Reminds me of the old days when "the drink" would "get you". Go ahead and get hammered and kill someone, "ohhhh such a shame, the drink got him, damn that drink!". It creates a new victim, that isn't a victim at all.
Agent Orange
The b0y ninja
I think its bad overall. Luckily we here all have a common interest (or had) so theres some relation in some way. But I have no issues telling some random on reddit to fuck off if they post something I dont like.
Sites like Snapchat, FB, or IG? Really bad for mental health.
Sites like Snapchat, FB, or IG? Really bad for mental health.
Social media is like freedom. It is controlled, manipulated, and censored by relatively few entities. Like freedom, social media brings mankind wonderful things and also inherently exposes mankind to a greater level of more horrible things. In other words, the bad always comes with the good. It is the price we have to pay.
wazzuFreddo
WuTang is 4 the children
Sites like Facebook aren’t just a static thing. There are algorithms and design work floating in the background specifically tailored to keep you engaged. It chooses what you see.
BARF is more of a static device, there are no fancy algorithms in the background, just what people post in chronological order.
BARF is more of a static device, there are no fancy algorithms in the background, just what people post in chronological order.
W800
Noob
But in this case, the tool itself could be said to inherently cause its own misuse. It's due to design algorithms that prioritize stickyness.
W800
Noob
Agreed on that distinction.
byke
Well-known member
They're designed to give people what they want, just like the thuh-me-de-yuh. Stop wanting trash and you won't get trash.