Hacking Your Mind

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Shakuhachi

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Is anyone else watching this on PBS?

Last night it was about “Us/Them” thinking and how Facebook is complicit letting Russian accounts polarize us.

But I also see theology here. I have long thought that “Either/or”, “Us/Them”, “black/White” thinking dehumanizes and makes it impossible to love on another.

 
GIven that when I look at Facebook, I see a bunch of animal rescue posts interspersed with some Catholic prayer groups and the very occasional post from my friends (usually something that has 50 reactions such as someone passing away or a really funny joke or a big disaster that just happened), I’m not sure how Russian hackers have anything to do with what I see. Aside from the fact that I’m not so stupid that I believe something just because there’s a post on Facebook.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Aside from the fact that I’m not so stupid that I believe something just because there’s a post on Facebook.
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No, you are obviously not stupid by any measure. But it is an unfortunate fact that all too many other people really are that stupid.
 
Then they could just as easily be influenced by something someone says at McDonalds.

People give social media way, way, way too much credit. I don’t really mind because for my own reasons, I like to see the govrernment regulating these mega-startups, and stuff like these purported hacker influences are leveraged by the government to open the door to do what they want to do. But I do think that Facebook and Twitter get the credit for so many things that they don’t deserve credit for. And it distracts people from the real reasons we are divided, which is not because evil Russian hackers did blablabla, it’s because people in this country genuinely disagree on some big, fat, major issues.
 
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Not everything on Facebook is true? I’m shocked,…shocked I tell you. 🤣
 
Tis_Bearself said:
And it distracts people from the real reasons we are divided, which is not because evil Russian hackers did blablabla, it’s because people in this country genuinely disagree on some big, fat, major issues.
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Yes, we do, and we always have. And there have been different levels of vitriol and demonization between sides throughout history as well. It is unfortunate that too many people are too easily swayed (whether on FB or at McD’s) by the loudest voice or the one that reinforces their biases. But I really am saddened that it seems we cannot disagree, even on major things, without painting the other side as evil incarnate. ETA: Granted that there have been some unequivocally evil positions throughout history, but not every disagreement is between Good and Evil.
 
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Facebook and Yotube reinforce it by feeding us more of what we already agree with. We then double down and dig our heels in deeper. We become more extreme and the same happens to those with different opinions. they also get more of what they already agree with and dig in. We thus find ourselves in polarized camps that can no longer communicate with each other. Who benefits?
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Then they could just as easily be influenced by something someone says at McDonalds.
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True, but something some weirdo says at a McDonalds can’t be immediately disseminated to tens of millions of credulous people just waiting for more ammunition with which to hate the other side. It’s true we’re always had dumb urban legends and rumors, but we didn’t always have the means to spread them so effectively.
 
Shakuhachi said:
Facebook and Yotube reinforce it by feeding us more of what we already agree with. We then double down and dig our heels in deeper. We become more extreme and the same happens to those with different opinions. they also get more of what they already agree with and dig in. We thus find ourselves in polarized camps that can no longer communicate with each other. Who benefits?
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I could just as well say that CAF reinforces my thoughts by feeding me more of what I already agree with, as in Catholicism.

It’s not like someone is going to suddenly change their mind or open their mind if they’re fed different viewpoints.

In any event, this isn’t my problem. My Facebook feed confirms that I agree with prayers, bears and fluffy kittens. Anything that ventures too far outside that realm usually gets hidden/ blocked/ unfollowed etc. by me. Many other people i know have walked away from social media altogether or were never on it.

Facebook and Twitter are just scapegoats. People like to kid themselves that if there wasn’t the Internet reinforcing people’s beliefs, those beliefs would just go away and we’d all start listening and dialoguing etc. Ain’t gonna happen.
 
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I don’t think so. All media, including talk radio and cable news give us the opportunity to confirm our own biases to the point that we cannot agree on any facts.
 
So if this is an “All media” problem, it must have been around since the printing press was invented and people became literate enough to read newspapers and handbills in large numbers, right?

So why is it a problem now? Solely because Democrats lost an election they thought they had in the bag?
 
There you go blaming Democrats. Where is that coming from?

Obviously with the internet and television we now have a great deal more opportunity for influence and manipulation.

You don’t agree?
 
We’re having a discussion.

I’m asking a question. It’s a fair question.

I’m a registered Democrat. Have been since I was 18.

I never heard anybody fussing about Facebook when Obama was getting elected twice. It was considered a wonderful platform where everybody could come together, unite, see beautiful rallies, and band together to oppose racism.

All of a sudden Trump unexpectedly wins an election, and Facebook becomes the devil.

It don’t take a weatherman.
 
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There is nothing new about it and it goes both ways and not just in the U.S.
 
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