Current CTO exploring entrepreneurship on the side; coach; mentor; instructor.
Dedicated to promoting digital literacy and ideological diversity in tech.
I think there's a way to reduce the harmful effects of social media for most people by a simple tuning of what the default views are for users.
For starters, the default home view should a chronological, in-network feed -- meaning you would see things in the order they happen, and only from people you know. None of this "friends-of-friends-of-friends" nonsense, and even less of this "algorithmically-defined-visibility" junk.
The user would be required to take the extra step of navigating to a "discover" tab to have the algorithm try to keep their attention.
Twitter and Facebook are the obvious examples here. I refuse to even use Twitter for the simple fact that my feed is inundated with stuff that isn't even remotely close to what I follow (because I only follow a dozen or so things).
Facebook's algorithm is so backwards that I don't find out about things from my circles until days after they've already happened because they're too busy sending me conspiracy garbage and autoplay videos that were shared by a distant "friends" random acquaintance.
Instagram is a little better, although they've recently changed how their home page works too, which is equally infuriating.
If we put the onus on the user to seek out the algorithm, then we put ourselves in a better place regarding mental health, while still balancing the rights of companies looking to innovate. The goal shouldn't be to kill these services, it should be to regulate them to reduce the harmful effects, while preserving the helpful ones.
I totally agree! I only use Twitter in the "latest tweets first" mode! It reduces at least some of the noise.
And I also don't want to villify social media networks in general. I think their initial ideas are so great and create so many good things!
The user would be required to take the extra step of navigating to a "discover" tab to have the algorithm try to keep their attention.
Unfortunately, this doens't work for me. I still get caught by the algorithm on instagram's discover tab to an extend that it's hard to close the app :D
Current CTO exploring entrepreneurship on the side; coach; mentor; instructor.
Dedicated to promoting digital literacy and ideological diversity in tech.
Unfortunately, this doens't work for me. I still get caught by the algorithm on instagram's discover tab to an extend that it's hard to close the app :D
I'm personally okay with this, as this now becomes a conscious choice by you.
I shouldn't be bombarded with suggested content immediately to the point where my actual network is pushed into oblivion by the latest teen craze or conspiracy theory.
The problem then moves away from being an issue with the social networks, and becomes one about us, which we deal with through education.
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We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.
I think there's a way to reduce the harmful effects of social media for most people by a simple tuning of what the default views are for users.
For starters, the default home view should a chronological, in-network feed -- meaning you would see things in the order they happen, and only from people you know. None of this "friends-of-friends-of-friends" nonsense, and even less of this "algorithmically-defined-visibility" junk.
The user would be required to take the extra step of navigating to a "discover" tab to have the algorithm try to keep their attention.
Twitter and Facebook are the obvious examples here. I refuse to even use Twitter for the simple fact that my feed is inundated with stuff that isn't even remotely close to what I follow (because I only follow a dozen or so things).
Facebook's algorithm is so backwards that I don't find out about things from my circles until days after they've already happened because they're too busy sending me conspiracy garbage and autoplay videos that were shared by a distant "friends" random acquaintance.
Instagram is a little better, although they've recently changed how their home page works too, which is equally infuriating.
If we put the onus on the user to seek out the algorithm, then we put ourselves in a better place regarding mental health, while still balancing the rights of companies looking to innovate. The goal shouldn't be to kill these services, it should be to regulate them to reduce the harmful effects, while preserving the helpful ones.
I totally agree! I only use Twitter in the "latest tweets first" mode! It reduces at least some of the noise.
And I also don't want to villify social media networks in general. I think their initial ideas are so great and create so many good things!
Unfortunately, this doens't work for me. I still get caught by the algorithm on instagram's discover tab to an extend that it's hard to close the app :D
I'm personally okay with this, as this now becomes a conscious choice by you.
I shouldn't be bombarded with suggested content immediately to the point where my actual network is pushed into oblivion by the latest teen craze or conspiracy theory.
The problem then moves away from being an issue with the social networks, and becomes one about us, which we deal with through education.