>It has democratized thought so well such that people whose ideas are morally depraved have the same ability to reach an audience that those whose ideas are praiseworthy are.
I don't think a majority of people hold these views. What we're doing is amplifying vocal minorities and drowning out everyone else.
Granted, no communication mass platform is going to accurately reflect the public. That's why we hold media especially accountable for spreading falsehoods. We haven't seen that sort of criticism of Social Media, however, until very recently. Twitter, Facebook, etc make editorial decisions to make some content more visible than others, and they chose to reward this kind of crap. But because they outsource their decisions to an algorithm, we have treated them less like television channels and more like telephone companies (dumb pipes).
> You can choose to use your skills for good by doing things that are beneficial. You can work for a non-profit, a church, a community to connect, build-up, and support people.
I strongly agree. And tech skills aren't even necessary. Try to get involved with local politics, volunteer, give money to good causes, and help your neighbors and friends in need. It's the antidote to the division and loneliness in our world.
> I don't think a majority of people hold these views. What we're doing is amplifying vocal minorities and drowning out everyone else.
Then I'd argue perhaps people haven't thought about it well enough. My point in another comment was that people formerly who could find no audience would likely get shut down since there was a bit of inoculation against certain ideas. However, with the internet you can reach an audience who finds your ideas acceptable far more easily than you could before.
> And tech skills aren't even necessary.
Absolutely. If you care enough, you'll find a way to help. My opinion is that tech thinks way too highly of itself. It thinks that technology itself can actually be a panacea. I've found that generally to be the opposite—that tech most often gets used to "get around" the hard work. However, that's probably just my cynicism speaking.
I don't think a majority of people hold these views. What we're doing is amplifying vocal minorities and drowning out everyone else.
Granted, no communication mass platform is going to accurately reflect the public. That's why we hold media especially accountable for spreading falsehoods. We haven't seen that sort of criticism of Social Media, however, until very recently. Twitter, Facebook, etc make editorial decisions to make some content more visible than others, and they chose to reward this kind of crap. But because they outsource their decisions to an algorithm, we have treated them less like television channels and more like telephone companies (dumb pipes).
> You can choose to use your skills for good by doing things that are beneficial. You can work for a non-profit, a church, a community to connect, build-up, and support people.
I strongly agree. And tech skills aren't even necessary. Try to get involved with local politics, volunteer, give money to good causes, and help your neighbors and friends in need. It's the antidote to the division and loneliness in our world.