6 ms·

Just don't follow toxic sources, that's all he's advocating. If someone's sharing memes from a crazy political page, either block that page or remove the friend

Just don't follow toxic sources, that's all he's advocating. If someone's sharing memes from a crazy political page, either block that page or remove the friend. People say social media like Facebook is toxic for the most part because they only deal with toxic people.

debaserab2 5y ago
That’s not “not following toxic sources” that’s actively pruning them from your connections. Why participate in that in the first place when toxicity grows there like a weed?
jhbadger 5y ago
The problem is that many of these "toxic people" are one's relatives that you can't just easily cut out of your life. Before social media, when they started on a racist rant or something you could get them to change the topic to sports or something, but these days they get encouragement in their extreme views from lots of other people they would have never met in real life.
tclancy 5y ago
It doesn't work that way. I pruned both Twitter and Facebook intentionally in the way you suggest and it became pretty clear (or maybe it's my biases) that both run on outrage. Facebook would insist on bringing arguments to the top of my feed as best it could. As an example, I am friends with a regional sportswriter on FB and he had a post asking something sports/ politics related. It generated about 50 responses, so FB condenses that into 2-3 replies and then offers to let you click to see more. Amazingly, the part it decided to call out was the one argument in the 50 comment thread. Controversy and upset are what drives engagement in social media.
- toss1 5y ago
  IDK about FB, I always avoided it like a toxic plague. But on Twitter, there seem to still be work-arounds. I use lists set to Private, curated for specific experts on particular topics, and many top and/or obscure experts post regularly. This provides a reasonably straightforward chronological feed, curated to my interest, with well-tuned news and links to key analysis. Just NEVER use the main Home feed (which they do push on you). IDK how long that feature will stay unpolluted by toxic algorithms, but Jack does seem a bit less determined than Zuck to pollute society.
  - tclancy 5y ago
    I don't know what to say to stuff like this. I spent a ton of time treating Twitter the same way and in no way do I want to suggest that I am now enlightened or something, but when you hear people (and I include my past self in this) talk about Twitter, it's like they're talking about a really effective chainsaw where there's no guard and the handle is on the wrong end. You can use it to cut down trees if you figure out how, but 99% of people harm themselves in the process.
    - toss1 5y ago
      Good point, and great chainsaw analogy Constant curation and management is indeed everything. And I remember at my first encounter with real computers in college, when I had a choice of editors, I went for the one with the most powerful features, despite the stated hazards. I do assume that the audience here tends to the more capable end, so most of them would not be in that 99%, but perhaps I'm mistaken?
      - tclancy 5y ago
        Every community thinks it's Lake Wobegon. This place is no more above average than anywhere else AFAIK. That said, thanks for reminding me of this! http://www.team.net/mjb/hawg.html http://www.team.net/mjb/hawg.html
        toss1 5y ago
        Ah yes, perspective -- "...that's not a knife... That's a knife"
mud_dauber 5y ago
Agreed. My FB & TW timelines are 95% non-toxic b/c I muted those people out of my life. The same with news feeds. It's sufficiently tranquil that my wife now asks to read my feeds. It just took some filter cycles to get there.

debaserab2 5y ago

That’s not “not following toxic sources” that’s actively pruning them from your connections. Why participate in that in the first place when toxicity grows there like a weed?

jhbadger 5y ago

The problem is that many of these "toxic people" are one's relatives that you can't just easily cut out of your life. Before social media, when they started on a racist rant or something you could get them to change the topic to sports or something, but these days they get encouragement in their extreme views from lots of other people they would have never met in real life.

tclancy 5y ago

It doesn't work that way. I pruned both Twitter and Facebook intentionally in the way you suggest and it became pretty clear (or maybe it's my biases) that both run on outrage. Facebook would insist on bringing arguments to the top of my feed as best it could. As an example, I am friends with a regional sportswriter on FB and he had a post asking something sports/ politics related. It generated about 50 responses, so FB condenses that into 2-3 replies and then offers to let you click to see more. Amazingly, the part it decided to call out was the one argument in the 50 comment thread. Controversy and upset are what drives engagement in social media.

toss1 5y ago
IDK about FB, I always avoided it like a toxic plague. But on Twitter, there seem to still be work-arounds. I use lists set to Private, curated for specific experts on particular topics, and many top and/or obscure experts post regularly. This provides a reasonably straightforward chronological feed, curated to my interest, with well-tuned news and links to key analysis. Just NEVER use the main Home feed (which they do push on you). IDK how long that feature will stay unpolluted by toxic algorithms, but Jack does seem a bit less determined than Zuck to pollute society.
- tclancy 5y ago
  I don't know what to say to stuff like this. I spent a ton of time treating Twitter the same way and in no way do I want to suggest that I am now enlightened or something, but when you hear people (and I include my past self in this) talk about Twitter, it's like they're talking about a really effective chainsaw where there's no guard and the handle is on the wrong end. You can use it to cut down trees if you figure out how, but 99% of people harm themselves in the process.
  - toss1 5y ago
    Good point, and great chainsaw analogy Constant curation and management is indeed everything. And I remember at my first encounter with real computers in college, when I had a choice of editors, I went for the one with the most powerful features, despite the stated hazards. I do assume that the audience here tends to the more capable end, so most of them would not be in that 99%, but perhaps I'm mistaken?
    - tclancy 5y ago
      Every community thinks it's Lake Wobegon. This place is no more above average than anywhere else AFAIK. That said, thanks for reminding me of this! http://www.team.net/mjb/hawg.html http://www.team.net/mjb/hawg.html
      - toss1 5y ago
        Ah yes, perspective -- "...that's not a knife... That's a knife"

mud_dauber 5y ago

Agreed. My FB & TW timelines are 95% non-toxic b/c I muted those people out of my life. The same with news feeds. It's sufficiently tranquil that my wife now asks to read my feeds. It just took some filter cycles to get there.