Yes, 'The Algorithm' REALLY IS Like That

[Umbran]

Hence, why I do not use social media.

EN World is social media.

 

[Umbran]

Turns out that when you're repeatedly warned about your business practices and even previously successfully sued for damages, but keep doing it anyway, you lose again. Who knew?

But, also, when the punishment for doing harm is a fine, it just becomes part of the cost for doing business. If there is profit in it, they'll accept the cost.

 

[trappedslider]

Yeah, as long as there’s an internet, people are going to find ways of being horrible to each other on it.

people don't need the internet to be horrible to each other. People were horrible with each other with just phones, and then before that with just writing each other.

 

[Umbran]

1. No social media for under 16s

While social media has risks for the young, I think that's a separate issue from the broad social ills we work under now with respect to the tech.

I will let developmental psychologists figure out what should happen for under age users.

I daresay that if EN World had to verify ages to the level that would protect us from liability, we'd probably close our doors.

2. Remove the feed and the doomscrolling, the only way to watch a video or story is to personally choose to open it.

Not quite.
Remove the algorithms that present content we didn't explicitly ask for. Make it so we see content from folks we follow. No more auto-suggesting content from third parties. No more bumping paid content that isn't clearly an advertisement.

3. People should be liable for statements they made on social media if it can be determined that an individual suffered harm through actions that relied on that statement.

I suspect this would have legal repercussions far beyond social media, and I am not sure I am on board with that.

4. Only individuals (not groups/organizations) be alllowed social media accounts and they had to provide ID documents/passport driving licence. Their name printed on each post along with their country of origin.

In a word: no.
The PTA, the local Scout Troop, your FLGS, and your municipality all have legitimate use cases for social media as a communication platform.

 

[Mannahnin]

"Everyone already knows that coffee is hot" was the actual tactic used by McDonalds to challenge a lawsuit... a legitimate injury lawsuit, by an elderly woman who endured a terrible burn and multiple skin grafts. I wouldn't be surprised to see these companies trod out something similar if legal action is ever taken on this.

However, that argument didn’t stick in that case, and the plaintiff received significant compensation. Class actions against social media companies followed by legislation in the majority of nations where they’re profitable may be the way we have to go, and if that makes running a social media company unprofitable, well, I’m all for it.

Significant compensation which was substantially reduced by the judge and then used as the basis for massive national efforts to change tort law and make it more difficult to get adequate compensation for injuries due to negligence.

Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Retros_x]

No surprises here. A lot of big tech CEOs talked about their kids having strictly restricted access to technology and social media. Many private boarding schools for the elite have strict no cellphone/no social media policy. They know what they are doing and they pull their own kind out of it. Its a new class divide. The poor stupid masses getting manipulated and the elite having their own discourse outside of it.

I deleted most social media and even limited my screentime for enworld and other "harmless" platforms. My mind and consciousness feel much better, its insane the effect it had on my mental health.

Social media and the new gambling epidemic are the bane of modern media.

 

[Scribe]

EN World is social media.

Oh, I wasn't aware EN World had an algorithm intentionally suppressing or promoting content to influence and mislead people.

 

[Umbran]

Oh, I wasn't aware EN World had an algorithm intentionally suppressing or promoting content to influence and mislead people.

Such algorithms are common on the largest platforms, but do not define "social media".

The Oxford definition is, "websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking," and EN World fits that definition pretty well.

 

[Scribe]

Such algorithms are common on the largest platforms, but do not define "social media".

As far as the commonly understood meaning, and directly relatable to the OP and link?

Yes they do, and traditional forums are not it.

 

[Morrus]

Oh, I wasn't aware EN World had an algorithm intentionally suppressing or promoting content to influence and mislead people.

It has an algorithm. It's just a very simple one -- sort by post date, descending. It suppresses old content and promotes new content. The toxicity of the algorithm is a scale with a forum like this at the bottom end and, presumably, certain other platforms at the top.