Ruminations on our relationship with technology
Why do social media amplify outrage and division? One of the reasons I don’t sign up for most social networking sites is that they seem to bring out the worst in us. Nowadays, there’s never a shortage of angry outbursts on social media. In fact, Nature Human Behavior, a cognitive and behavioral science journal, recently … Read more
The media ecology of how social media changed communication One of the key insights of media ecology is that when we add a new technology to our culture, we don’t just have the same culture plus the new technology. Rather, the technology changes the culture. In other words, technological innovation can change our whole way … Read more
Instrumentarianism and social media Summary: Instrumentarianism refers to Big Tech’s power to monitor and manipulate what you can and can’t see online. For instance, social media sites may use this power to commodify people’s attention and private data. The goal is to keep users on their sites for as long as possible, often through click-bait … Read more
Stoic virtue for social media Summary: If some folks find themselves constantly feeling angry or outraged, one reason may be because they’re perpetually distracted. At least, that was an observation the Stoic philosopher Seneca made two millennia ago. His advice: Remove unnecessary distractions to cultivate a calm (as opposed to agitated) state of mind. That … Read more
Why social media incentivize online outrage culture It’s no secret—during election years in particular—that online outrage culture dominates plenty of social media. That’s especially true whenever politics come up. According to Pew Research, social media users in the U.S. are now more likely to describe political discourse as “stressful and frustrating” on sites such as … Read more
Online outrage on social media “Geez, I was only on Facebook for three minutes, and in that time I lost eight friends!” So said a buddy of mine as we were catching up over beers. Unsurprisingly, his remarks took place during an election season. As usual, he (and many others) saw no shortage of outrage … Read more