CLOSED: [2024-07-13 Sat 17:53] SCHEDULED: <2024-07-13 Sat>
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:CREATED: [2024-07-13 Sat 17:37]
:ID: 2024-07-13-social-network-filters
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- State "DONE"       from "STARTED"    [2024-07-13 Sat 17:53]
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Well, that's no news: [[id:2024-05-12-Fediverse-and-Mastodon][social networks are not good for your health for many reasons]].
This one is an example that makes it very easy to understand for most people.

[[https://www.tiktok.com/@elieli0000][elieli0000]] on the TikTok platform has [[https://www.tiktok.com/@elieli0000/video/7373012517016079649][published a video]]. You can watch it here:

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<iframe title="elieli0000 on tiktok about different people seeing different comments below the same posting" width="560" height="315" src="https://tube.graz.social/videos/embed/71dc7190-2731-47ce-898f-603ab3099af1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-forms"></iframe>
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*In short, she is struck by the fact that her boyfriend sees totally
different comments below a video than herself.*

I have to say that this is somewhat naïve considering the fact that
she is a content producer who obviously has no idea how the thing
works that she is feeding with content.

This is a clear example how algorithms are one of the reasons why
people aggregate to much hatred in the Internet. They are just fed by
one single point of view and all other point of views are hidden from
them. This way, your brain only gets fed more and more one-sided
comments, postings, opinions, and so forth.

That also happens when political parties are using social networks to
promote their programs. This way, they send customized messages to
each social media consumer. Those customized messages reinforce the
already existing opinions in a way that we only read what we want to
read, totally independent of the main direction of the political
program. I guess that's one of the reasons why right-wing parties get
more and more voters among disadvantaged groups: they just give them
some clever slogans and make people vote against their own interest.

However, there is an alternative which is not using manipulative
algorithms to filter content for you: [[id:2024-05-12-Fediverse-and-Mastodon][Fediverse and Mastodon: Social
Media, but in a Good Way: Sustainable, Healthy, Collaborative, ...]]

You should think of using social networks that are good for you.