HN Explorer

Is massive and extreme polarization the biggest issue about our society?

3 points by paulbourcereau ↗ HN
And if so, what do you think could help solve this ?

Medias definitely have a major role to play here but is it even possible to change the status quo ?

6 comments

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superduty
It certainly does impede progress to more moderate and beneficial circumstances.

Extreme outlier positions need to get deamplified.

Tone and style needs to elevate. Politicians and leaders communicating like they are 12 year old schoolyard bullies is ineffective.

paulbourcereau
This makes a lot of sense. And do you think someone/something is responsible for this ? Or is it just the way our society is evolving ?
brucethemoose2
> Politicians and leaders communicating like they are 12 year old schoolyard bullies is ineffective.

On the contrary, it is extremely engaging. That is part of the problem.

The other problem is that they have always communicated like twelve year olds. Just go back and read some of the backstabbing in newspapers shortly after the U.S. was founded. But a few tech companies have essentially hijacked the way we get information with relentless engagement optimization, at any cost, so now this insulting is blotting out the sun.

paulbourcereau
I guess by ineffective he meant for the "greater good".

This raises a new question. It seems like it has been established by Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc that :

Maximizing shareholder value => maximizing time spent on the app => maximizing engagement => maximizing "sensational" and trash content

So do you believe that these implications will hold forever ? Now that this seems like the status quo, is there a chance for a new social media to exist where the first premise doesn't imply the others ?

brucethemoose2
My hope is that enshittification will do its job, and burns social media as it exists to the ground.

And that seems likely. The only way to keep revenue going up is to degrade the platforms a little more.

Its seems that "private" chatrooms like Telegram, Discord and such are poised to replace it, and new social media will truly become siloed, and that some platforms (like iOS) will fight the relentless notification attention seeking from these apps a little. I'm not sure that this is any better... But it sure would be different.

Eunoia12
Honestly think of culture wars as well as think about marginalization.

Think about what systemic changes need to happen to help people. Such as education, consumerism, recycling, etc.

Think about trends and how that can impact people in a positive change.

Start by helping your local community.