The death of healthy debate
Over the years, I have spent a lot of time studying behavioral algorithms and their impact on society and humanity. Meanwhile, I tested many algorithmic approaches to shaping behavior with often mind-blowing results.
As good as my life is currently, I have been increasingly depressed about the current situation in social media.
I have worked hard to build a network that spans across filter bubbles and allows me to see different takes to the stories spreading through social media feeds. It has become increasingly challenging to do that.
Using a social share to start a healthy, constructive debate on almost any topic is next to impossible, as people from different sides mostly trade insults and jabs without really even trying to find any common ground.
Almost anything you post will result in some people canceling & blocking you. It is not about my ego getting hurt from the blocking. It is about my social bubble becoming narrower every time that happens.
The saddest part is that it happens by design. Our worldview becomes a bit narrower every time we comment or react to a post, and the algorithm reconfigures to feed us more of the same in a positive light (and consequently more of the opposite side in a negative light).
I love to debate with people from different backgrounds. I want to learn how they view the world and reach conclusions that are different from mine.
Now you may say that I can always do it in person. Decade-long social conditioning has made it harder for us to have a debate in person too. I find people jumping to conclusions on my positions based on their virtual reality filter bubble - also in the base reality.
The culture we grew up in has shaped us, and even if we have walked away from our parents’ belief systems, we still carry a unique set of views and values that have their roots in our childhood.
The algorithms, on the other hand, don’t have a cultural origin. Their purpose is to addict you to the content feed and maximize the revenue of the social media platform by serving you a lot of ads before you leave.
The ugly side effect of these algorithms is polarization and division. We limit our learning potential by blocking people with different opinions. We lose our ability to negotiate and compromise. We lose our ability to sustain peace and end up with new wars.
How can we fix this? I don’t have any good answers. And that’s why I feel so bad being here.
A Storyteller with Numbers - CFO, Portfolio Manager, MRICS, APA, Internal auditor
3 年Yes. I feel that in social media people, myself included, easily do not stop and really "see" each other or their point of view. I also think that we need to trust each other before a healthy conflict can even occur. It’s also the foundation for any productive team work. In social media there sometimes seems to be only little room in us for trust building. Conflicts - however bizarre and pointless they are – are often escalating and argumentations goes around saving one’s face or credibility on the matter that was perhaps posted without thinking it over or making the message complete. Everybody has strengths and weaknesses. One key to success is understanding one’s weaknesses and successfully compensating for them. I like to think that the capacity of being merciful is the best part of western culture - a big cornerstone for good trust. I wish good luck to a person who lacks the ability to be merciful – you will really need that luck. ?
Founder, Centa Co & AutiQuest - Learning disability/autism/brain injury support - Exploring neuromodulation as a way to downregulate autistic sensory hyper-sensitivity
3 年I often seek out debates with people that I disagree with. I instinctively know that I should. One's own confirmation bias can be a dangerous thing.
1-Kreditor-Modell für Einmalbedarfe | Co-Founder & CEO @ Pedlar | Emplifyr | Freelance B2B Growth Strategist & Fractional CMO
3 年I wholeheartedly agree. I feel discussions on hot topics are lead in a far too binary frame of mind that only sees right or wrong as possible outcomes. I think a lot of it comes down to the fact that a lot of people never truly learned how to have an actual debate and how to deconstruct, analyse and potentially compromise on certain standpoints. I’ve too often witnessed people treating complex topics as monolithic rather than seeing the complex mesh of context that exists beyond their own experiences. I feel our educational systems need to start teaching critical thinking, debating and compromising far earlier as essential life skills.
I make the software you need.
3 年It might be that social media and addictive algorithms are some of the great filters. Hopefully, that is not true, though.