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JC2535 t1_j1qa3q5 wrote

Polarization = Profit$!

Creating intense sports rivalries and brand loyalty among Democrats VS Republicans is good for the bottom line for the media.

We live in the age of Angertainment.

We’re not doing anything to stop it. Nobody is going to do anything to stop it.

Destabilization is baked into the business model. The shareholders don’t want it to change, and certainly the company management team doesn’t want it to change.

That effectively leaves us at a perpetual state of uncertainty and impending doom- from which a small number of people will get very rich.

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SnarkOff t1_j1t5sa7 wrote

I wrote my masters thesis on this topic! Media that has a subscription business model leads to better civic outcomes. Media that runs on ads is incentivized to elicit extreme emotions.

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ghostdancesc t1_j1sokv0 wrote

Angertainment I’ve never heard that before, but it’s perfect. Real House wives, news media, etc…

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Telandria t1_j1u4a5w wrote

Yeah, this 100%. Was talking with a couple friends about this very thing at lunch yesterday. About how social media companies have learned that the angrier people are, the higher the engagement number get, which means more ads pushed and thus more profit for them, so they deliberately work to foster the whole echo chamber mentality and then push those people together to make the sparks fly.

I seriously doubt the polarization thing is going away anytime soon. Not until something fundamental about these companies changes.

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Wh00ster t1_j1q2usn wrote

It’s effectively saying we should hide all the crazy qanon and also uber leftists posts from feeds.

Anything that makes people upset should be down ranked and we should be shown things that make us believe the world is fine.

Not sure what’s worse.

> Prioritize content that’s popular among disparate user groups

> Correct misconceptions

> Design better user interfaces

I really don’t think these are things people want, but I’m happy to be wrong

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ss_221 t1_j1qflf3 wrote

Its contradictory cause everything on Social Media is built on top of an oversimplistic foundation of collecting Likes and Followers.

What that Like/View/Click/Upvote/Follower Count signals to different people is very different. So naturally there is going to be misunderstandings. Which keeps building with time. Who wants to see someone they have no respect for accumulating a ton of Likes and Followers? Its an unnecessary provocation.

On slashdot for example, they cap how many Likes you can collect and add another layer of signalling. They dont just show people the Like Count next to a comment. Users are also able to tag the comment as Offtopic, Flamebait, Troll, Redundant, Insightful, Interesting, Informative, Funny, Overrated, Underrated etc etc. These kinds of experiments have to happen more.

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Feudamonia t1_j1sizqf wrote

>crazy qanon and also uber leftists posts

You forgot the alt-right...

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Bo_Jim t1_j1ssayd wrote

In other words, people are less likely to get riled up if you show them stuff that's less likely to get them riled up. Ignore the lunatics on the fringe of both extremes, and just focus on the people who are close enough that they can reach across the divide and shake hands.

Rose colored glasses by any other name...

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StrangerThanGene t1_j1ryera wrote

I think the first question we should probably ask is should we be trying to reduce polarization?

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FallenITD t1_j1t464b wrote

Considering how divergent thoughts are censored that’s to be expected

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MpVpRb t1_j1qtwb9 wrote

>when people interact with someone from their social “outgroup,” they often come to view that outgroup in a more favorable light

Related story

My brother is a Republican. While I lean conservative on many issues, I find today's Republicans to be dangerous and terrifying. When we have a private, rational discussion on specific policies, we agree on many points

When he's on a rant, he spews the most awful, irrational hate for all Democrats and love for Trump

The interaction with the outgroup needs to be a rational policy discussion, not an angry rant

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BadAtExisting t1_j1rk9f9 wrote

Calm, happy people don’t generate nearly as much click revenue

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