The problem seems to be that social networks weren't created to better society, rather to make money and the way they do so is through 'enagement' which has translated into hate. I've intuitively known this about social media and it's why I've massively scaled back my 'engagement'. It makes sense what you say that being on Twitter and the like means: "everyone gets a little more angry. Rage and repeat." I often wonder at the beneficial transformation to society had social networks been designed around cooperation rather than raw profit?
Certainly one of the questions that I raise in the book is how a social network tuned for something else (education? information?) might look. Though it has been tried - Biz Stone (a Twitter co-founder) set up Jelly (https://www.ignitesocialmedia.com/social-networks/jelly-social-network/) which went nowhere, and there's also Quora - but one sees clickbait and similar there too.
Cooperation would be great, but we tend to pull together best when threatened, collectively. That's why wars and ice ages have, weirdly, been good for human cohesiveness.
The problem seems to be that social networks weren't created to better society, rather to make money and the way they do so is through 'enagement' which has translated into hate. I've intuitively known this about social media and it's why I've massively scaled back my 'engagement'. It makes sense what you say that being on Twitter and the like means: "everyone gets a little more angry. Rage and repeat." I often wonder at the beneficial transformation to society had social networks been designed around cooperation rather than raw profit?
Certainly one of the questions that I raise in the book is how a social network tuned for something else (education? information?) might look. Though it has been tried - Biz Stone (a Twitter co-founder) set up Jelly (https://www.ignitesocialmedia.com/social-networks/jelly-social-network/) which went nowhere, and there's also Quora - but one sees clickbait and similar there too.
Cooperation would be great, but we tend to pull together best when threatened, collectively. That's why wars and ice ages have, weirdly, been good for human cohesiveness.
And we miss seeing you on Twitter!