Great read! Solid analysis and I appreciate that the author actually took the time to spell out some thoughtful potential solutions instead of just harping on the problems.
I like most of the suggestions but I think increasing the age restriction for online services would be a huge mistake. I think congress made the right call setting the age at 13. That's how old I was when I built my first computer. If you ban kids from legitimate social media sites you're effectively just forcing them over to places like 4chan.
I also think our institutions bear at least as much responsibility for the erosion of trust as do social media services and viral mechanics.
If we do not make major changes soon, then our institutions, our political system, and our society may collapse during the next major war, pandemic, financial meltdown, or constitutional crisis.
The last major US war was Iraq which we were led into by the outright lies told to us by the Bush administration. Our public health leaders lied to us from the very start of the pandemic and conspired to suppress dissenting opinions and research into the origins of the virus. In the last financial meltdown the federal government bailed out the largest financial institutions which were responsible for the crisis in the first place while leaving individual homeowners out to dry.
In short, our institutions are and always have been kind of a shit show.
They may be better than many alternatives and I do think they're salvageable but let's not pretend people on social media are just freaking out about imaginary monsters that aren't rooted in at least some truth.
Honestly with all the lies and injustices that we've been exposed to recently in rapid, high-definition, viral succession I'm surprised that things aren't even more chaotic. I'm also optimistic that the proliferation of social media is making it more difficult for corrupt cops, politicians, public officials, and business leaders to get away with their crimes and coverups.
This article really disturbed me but I agree with Jeff that it was refreshing to see some suggestions for positive change. I’m definitely one of the “exhausted majority” who would welcome cooperation, compromise, caring and YES, some nuanced thinking without being labeled a racist, transphobe, etc.
Great read! Solid analysis and I appreciate that the author actually took the time to spell out some thoughtful potential solutions instead of just harping on the problems.
I like most of the suggestions but I think increasing the age restriction for online services would be a huge mistake. I think congress made the right call setting the age at 13. That's how old I was when I built my first computer. If you ban kids from legitimate social media sites you're effectively just forcing them over to places like 4chan.
I also think our institutions bear at least as much responsibility for the erosion of trust as do social media services and viral mechanics.
The last major US war was Iraq which we were led into by the outright lies told to us by the Bush administration. Our public health leaders lied to us from the very start of the pandemic and conspired to suppress dissenting opinions and research into the origins of the virus. In the last financial meltdown the federal government bailed out the largest financial institutions which were responsible for the crisis in the first place while leaving individual homeowners out to dry.
In short, our institutions are and always have been kind of a shit show. They may be better than many alternatives and I do think they're salvageable but let's not pretend people on social media are just freaking out about imaginary monsters that aren't rooted in at least some truth.
Honestly with all the lies and injustices that we've been exposed to recently in rapid, high-definition, viral succession I'm surprised that things aren't even more chaotic. I'm also optimistic that the proliferation of social media is making it more difficult for corrupt cops, politicians, public officials, and business leaders to get away with their crimes and coverups.
This article really disturbed me but I agree with Jeff that it was refreshing to see some suggestions for positive change. I’m definitely one of the “exhausted majority” who would welcome cooperation, compromise, caring and YES, some nuanced thinking without being labeled a racist, transphobe, etc.