The article is mostly an interview with one of the researchers that produced the study. Don't like the headline? Fine. Just read what that researcher has to say.

Facebook got their seed money from Peter Thiel. They also employ a lot of ex CIA. So not sure about the no conspiracy thing.

Also the millions they take in creating targeted political ads in order to manipulate their users and influence elections isn't a conspiracy. How they met with the President, kissed his ring, and then went all in on right wing content.

Yeah no conspiracy here, just keep walking

Did you read the article? Their findings were that not using such algorithms did not have the expected effect. That social networks themselves, by their nature, lead to similar network, filter, and trigger effects. Chronological order made it worse, not better, apparently.

The engagement driven algorithms making it worse seems intuitive. So I'm surprised and skeptical too. I haven't read their paper, only the article/interview.

The linked article also includes an interview. At least in this case, it's not only a rephrasing of the paper or paper abstract.

(Just pointing it out here so people don't skip the article while thinking there's nothing else there.)

But what we find is that it's not just that this content spreads; it also shapes the network structures that are formed. So there's feedback between the effective emotional action of choosing to retweet something and the network structure that emerges. And then in turn, you have a network structure that feeds back what content you see, resulting in a toxic network. The definition of an online social network is that you have this kind of posting, reposting, and following dynamics. It's quite fundamental to it. That alone seems to be enough to drive these negative outcomes.

Trying to grasp it in my own words;

Because social networks are about interactions and networks (follows, communities, topics, instances), they inherently human nature establish toxic networks.

Even when not showing content through engagement-based hot or active metrics, interactions will push towards networking effects of central players/influencers and filter and trigger bubbles.

If there were no voting, no followable accounts or communities, it would not be a social network anymore (by their definition).

That's not an excuse to have a false and misleading headline.

I also noticed something in my friend group. No one makes anything. Its all share share share. Im the only one taking original photos or videos or making jokes. Its kind of sad. And is not like their lives are boring either. They'd just rather consume others stuff.

Are most people like that?

also propaganda is just political ads, and the way companies make money on the internet is by showing ads ..

(for me the main one are the tankie scum devs)

This right here is the crux of the problem and why the problem goes back so much further than the design and algorithms of platforms. We teach kids to focus on individual achievement, to celebrate the self, and we don't teach empathy, something that needs to be taught young and can easily be taught but the west increasingly considers weakness and a dirty word.

When we fail to teach citizens of a society collectivism, because being a member of a society means you are part of a collective whether you decide to be a good collective that functions or one that operates against itself (herp derp competition!) that does not, you get communication between members like this.

"I hate these people fuck them they should me more like MEEEE" "their opinions suck because they aren't more like MIIIINE" and we act as a bunch of petulant infants that resent each other's very existence in OUR world.

If we were taught that it is our responsibility to lift one another up, if we rewarded people in society on the basis of who and how many others they've helped and not how much they hoarded for THEMSELVES, this wouldnt be as much of a problem. We could, now that we don't have to survive in nature, orient our mindsets to the positive, which would have to be encouraged young. Instead we're made to be like... This. A useful state for killing a rival in YOUR hunting area when there's only enough game in the region for one tribe to survive the winter, not so much when trying to build a civilization up. And don't get me started on the counterproductive mindfuck that is nation states and super serious imaginary lines between them, meant to protect hoards of INDIVIDUAL wealth of respective elites.

The problem is, how do you start such a virtuous cycle when everyone from the owners down are only concerned with "ME ME ME MINE MINE MINE?"

Then again you hate tankies, so go ahead and cuss me out for calling out the reality that capitalism, especially when it has effectively conquered the culture, turns people into selfish little gremlins more likely to shoot a stranger than help them.

I've started asking people what they have created lately... They seem to take it as an insult when it isn't meant to be.

The reality is consuming is easier than producing. You can see it with the usage of phones and tablets vs laptops. It's hard to create on a touch screen but it's easy to consume.

Social spaces aren't something that needs fixing.

We blame the problems caused by wealth inequality on technology as a way to not even discuss making the rich contribute to society

BULLSHIT

they could still do with some fixing

Yeah its sad computing is dying because of ipads. Lot of people.dont even have a computer.

Yes.

Whatchu gonna do about it?
~(not asking specifically you, bridge, just didn't want to leave the thread at a circle jerk)~

Does making horrible horrible things in CK2 count as creation? If not I am simply creating a mess of my life.

Childish take. Perfect example of why western online leftism will always be a failure.

You wouldn't be writing this shit if your family had to leave their due to a russian invasion and then eight years later having to deal with another full scale invasion (with a shad part landing in the house next to yours).

Grow up!

What's the issue that you think social media is causing?

I'm willing to bet that wealth redistribution would fix almost any of the issues people blame on social media.

Oh I think the capitalist "grown ups" as you say only concerned with quarterly GDP and their own individual hoards in charge are doing fine on their own. Don't you?

They don't need some idiot commie child as you say like me getting in the way of this great society's trajectory. This bull is loose!

I lost, we leftists lost, and since the capitalists are destroying the very COMMUNal climate we rely on from one breath to the next, it's too late for us to ever turn it around, as civilization hangs by a thread on the easy baby "just don't shit where you sleep" climate mode we enjoyed and are eviscerating as we speak in the name of year over year metastasis.

What does winning feel like? Is it awesome? Do you feel victorious in your capitalist society?

Ohh dude. That's a really interesting thought. Genuinely. I wonder if this could actually reap positive consequences. But also to be fair if your main aim is to proliferate through engagement (see shock), then there's no positive hope to have a good affect on the audience.