The Blindness of Social Wealth • Hacker News Board

Re: The Blindness of Social Wealth

#21

Post by oh_sigh » Tue, Apr 17, 2018, 5:54 PM UTC

chongli wrote: post #10

malvosenior wrote: post #4

"I was really struck by this last week, when Mark Zuckerberg came through Washington. Most of the questions he faced at the congressional hearings and most of the analysis in the press were about Facebook’s failure to protect privacy. That’s the sort of thing that may be uppermost on your mind if you are socially wealthy, if, like most successful politicians and analysts, you live within a thick web of connection and…

If it's not the role of government to solve problems that are tearing apart the fabric of society, then whose role is it? Who is going to do it? Maybe no one. Maybe we're all screwed.

"The community"? Government is just one highly formal portion of the larger community.

Re: The Blindness of Social Wealth

#22

Post by jerf » Tue, Apr 17, 2018, 6:02 PM UTC

chongli wrote: post #10

malvosenior wrote: post #4

"I was really struck by this last week, when Mark Zuckerberg came through Washington. Most of the questions he faced at the congressional hearings and most of the analysis in the press were about Facebook’s failure to protect privacy. That’s the sort of thing that may be uppermost on your mind if you are socially wealthy, if, like most successful politicians and analysts, you live within a thick web of connection and…

If it's not the role of government to solve problems that are tearing apart the fabric of society, then whose role is it? Who is going to do it? Maybe no one. Maybe we're all screwed.

"If it's not the role of government to solve problems that are tearing apart the fabric of society, then whose role is it?"

Society, and the individuals who make up society, which is a great deal more than "government".

Solving social isolation by having the men-with-guns order you to do things seems likely to lead to more social isolation rather than less.

Re: The Blindness of Social Wealth

#23

Post by steve_musk » Tue, Apr 17, 2018, 6:03 PM UTC

daodedickinson wrote: post #20

fogzen wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here’s a radical idea: don’t use Facebook if it makes you feel bad!

Quitting Facebook doesn't cure the social bankruptcy, though. The only cures seem to be joining cults and gangs and militaries and other groups with high costs and low standards.

Yeah those are the only cures... Or you know, get off the internet and make some friends in real life.

Re: The Blindness of Social Wealth

#24

Post by bsder » Tue, Apr 17, 2018, 6:08 PM UTC

I wonder if there are any lessons to be learned from other times and places.

"Cry, the Beloved Country" seems to spring to mind ...

Re: The Blindness of Social Wealth

#25

Post by laughingman2 » Tue, Apr 17, 2018, 6:16 PM UTC

malvosenior wrote: post #18

crdoconnor wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The war on drugs was never about legislating behavior. It was about criminalizing "undesirables" (blacks, hippies, etc.).

Regardless of the reason they did it, the end result was the same: failure to regulate behavior.

One can argue that the end result for the reason they did it is a resounding success. So their strategy was not focused in regulating behavior.

Re: The Blindness of Social Wealth

#26

Post by tdb7893 » Tue, Apr 17, 2018, 6:22 PM UTC

thisisit wrote: post #7

There is a growing culture of reaction videos on YT. People watch other people watching and reacting to stuff. That never sat well with me. And I always wondered - are people so alone or insecure that they need to watch other people's "reaction" to feel better? Given the rise of reaction channels on YT, I guess the answer is resounding - Yes.

People are naturally social and people's reactions can be interesting and fun. I don't watch reaction videos but I know at least that my friends are really funny when reacting to things in person so it's unsurprising that an Internet personality can be also.

Re: The Blindness of Social Wealth

#27

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Apr 17, 2018, 6:38 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: The Blindness of Social Wealth

#28

Post by psyc » Tue, Apr 17, 2018, 6:44 PM UTC

thisisit wrote: post #7

There is a growing culture of reaction videos on YT. People watch other people watching and reacting to stuff. That never sat well with me. And I always wondered - are people so alone or insecure that they need to watch other people's "reaction" to feel better? Given the rise of reaction channels on YT, I guess the answer is resounding - Yes.

Yes, a lot of people are insecure. They need people to agree with them, and feel like them. Validate them. They need to see people the same gender, color, size and shape as them do things.

Re: The Blindness of Social Wealth

#29

Post by whatyoucantsay » Tue, Apr 17, 2018, 6:45 PM UTC

quxbar wrote: post #3

abnry wrote: post #2

"It’s that Facebook and other social media companies are feeding this epidemic of loneliness and social isolation." This is less about Facebook and more about people on the internet.

Yeah, I was socially isolating myself online WAY before facebook!

The future was already there. It just wasn't evenly distributed yet.

Re: The Blindness of Social Wealth

#30

Post by psyc » Tue, Apr 17, 2018, 6:45 PM UTC

chongli wrote: post #10

malvosenior wrote: post #4

"I was really struck by this last week, when Mark Zuckerberg came through Washington. Most of the questions he faced at the congressional hearings and most of the analysis in the press were about Facebook’s failure to protect privacy. That’s the sort of thing that may be uppermost on your mind if you are socially wealthy, if, like most successful politicians and analysts, you live within a thick web of connection and…

If it's not the role of government to solve problems that are tearing apart the fabric of society, then whose role is it? Who is going to do it? Maybe no one. Maybe we're all screwed.

The individual.