It's a tool like anything else that can foster our best and worst tendencies. That's all.

This site has rules, and they are enforced.

This site tolerates no lies or bullshit or sketchy sources.

Facebook? Twitter? Not so much.

Apples and oranges.

sources from your feeds. Unless, of course, the people you're friends with believe that crap. In which case it seems to be a user issue.

"on the fence" politically? Or those who like to "consider both sides"?

such items from their newsfeeds.

watching it just because it's on and they can't be bothered to find the remote?

Look, I get it. There's a lot of problematic media out there. But 'twas ever thus, and thinking that "social media" is the problem is a mistake.

for 20 hours a day. Also, they probably don't wake up in the middle of the night to check Fox News, like they do with facebook.

It brings out far more worse than good.

If we are using DU as an example, well in the past week we were witness to folks posting misleading and outright false OPs, folks completely unable to understand satire, folks not reading thru threads to get a better understanding, folks skewered for pointing out false, misleading and untrue statements, and folks fawning over a bunch of bullshit rumors

They are just more public about it. Personal relationships are probably affected more negatively but politically, not many minds are changed.

Most people on Facebook, a more recent technology, have already formed their opinions from FOX News and right-wing radio. When they post on Facebook, they simply become more public with their already-formed beliefs, imo.

but from my point of view, I see too many people that really don't understand what is happening in this country. They are either completely apathetic or completely ill informed. With these people, I believe they are swayed by facebook bombardment of false narratives.

but I don't think they have changed their political opinions that much. Just my opinion.

it was harder to get prominent attention and herd groups so quickly.

...that these gadgets appear to lessen live human interaction.
Everyone has their heads down worshipping these things.
We can't even leave them in the car or our pockets when we go out to eat?

"No one talks to each other anymore, they're all sitting in dark living rooms looking at that damned box!" You might have noticed there are teevee's in many restaurants today, because people can't stop watching it even when they go out to eat.

I can imagine, once upon a time, someone arguing that the common people shouldn't be taught to read, because if they learned they'd just sit around reading stories all the time, and they'd lose interest in real life.

Agree 100%!!

As it is today. Maybe even more so. Very few outlets available to individual citizens regionally and that is what was shaping their perceptions. Some of the attacks levied on political rivals were completely dishonest, well over the top, and would go without fact checking.

The Van Buren era was especially fun.

it propagates far and wide at light speed (well, almost.)

Before Facebook, people use telephone, emails, letters. Now everyone says “it’s on Facebook”.

can fuck themselves

Tech pioneers and gurus all warning about overload. The inventor of the like button had removed it from his devices, another disables his WI fi during the evening.

Can't seem to find it tho, I think it wasvfrom the Guardian

Which probably means I have them blocked. Wanna summarize or nah?

Posts. I especially resonate with the random one-liners.

The hot new thing is deemed dangerous and destructive. Eventually, it becomes an old thing, integrated into life, and no one complains about it; they're too busy complaining about the new hot new thing.

Social media is 'the peoples media'

We need to leave it be

With every pro, there is a likely con. Both can be powerful.

Bottom line, no matter how enabling to dangerous ignorance and damaging incivility social media has been to our culture, it has also allowed us to communicate.

It has brought families and friends separated by miles, instantly reachable. It has given us the immeasurable ability to meet and develop personal communications with people we would never have met just by walking out of our doors. It has given us the open hallways to knowledge and advocacy and having our voices heard.

The problem and faults will always lie within the individual’s ability to act decently.

That obviously can be a huge problem. And very ugly.

But the potential and power of turning that behavior into or towards something more productive and beneficial to all must still be the defining factor.

nm

Ending net neutrality will probably kill their traffic.

I love the way it connects us with people, places and ideas, but I hate how it has redefined and perhaps eliminated privacy. It's almost impossible not to be under the scrutiny of lurking eyes online anymore...

"Anyone can buy a book and read it?"