The “Majority Illusion” in Social Networks (2016) • Hacker News Board

Re: The “Majority Illusion” in Social Networks (2016)

#41

Post by FriendlyNormie » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 6:14 AM UTC

askafriend wrote: post #32

grawprog wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in a small community outside America. On Saturday I left the mall where I'd been subject to the 'new normal' covid distancing laws shit. Stepped out into the sunshine to see over 1000 people marching down the street in one huddled mass protesting because...riots in America. I watched a car's window get smashed because they wanted to drive through an intersection and had the audacity to ask if they could drive…

I think you fail to understand just how prevalent these issues are for people of color every single day . Yes, these issues might be just a speck for you. But they're a stain on daily life for millions of people around the world (which is why you see people empathizing not just domestically, but internationally). Justifying one's existence and identity every single day is exhausting on a level that all other problems…

No post body was provided.

Re: The “Majority Illusion” in Social Networks (2016)

#42

Post by pwdisswordfish2 » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 6:31 AM UTC

jariel wrote: post #29

keenmaster wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've read enough history to be convinced that democratic-anything is usually better. Social media is a more democratic medium than traditional media. On the whole, that will turn out for the better, especially as we learn how to control the worst aspects of social media. Before Facebook came out, how much did news reporters, even on MSNBC, lead the conversation against systematic social and economic injustice towards…

The term 'democratic' has fundamentally different connotations in politics, and in media. 'Social Media' is not 'more democratic' it's just a free-for-all where small voices have massively disproportionate power, and there are no controls or integrity - it's just crude, unbridled, bloody populism. A more democratic 'social media' would weigh every plebe's opinion equally. The 'Free Press' is a self-regulating institu…

To me, "democratic" basically means "majority rule". By that definition, a website offering "social media" is the antithesis of democratric. The website owner is always the deciding vote.

Re: The “Majority Illusion” in Social Networks (2016)

#43

Post by grawprog » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 6:37 AM UTC

watwut wrote: post #36

grawprog wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Now dig into the data and see what segment of the population these issues affect the most and disproportionately so. On top of all that, Black people have to worry about having to walk down the street too? Any reasonable person would say "fuck that". Not sure about the data, but based on the people I see every day and talk to it's poor and mentally ill native and white people. The black community is fairly small her…

Then it kind of sounds like people are protesting against issue that is actual issue they experienced in their community. And somehow it is not real for you, because they are not right color and should wait for other protests with matching color.

Hmmm, no i was responding to the actual content of the article which is pointing out social media is causing people to overreact to issues outside their area of influence because of what they see online. My point is, I watched a large majority of a community go out and protest over things in another country, ignoring the issues not only caused by the recent lockdowns that seem to matter nothing any more to these people, but the actual issues of their own community are seeemingly not worth addressing, but getting all self righteous about an issue not a single one of them has ever experienced.in their lives, while businesses in their community have closed down because everyone needs to stay away from.eachother. but the second a cop kills someone in America, that means fuck all any more and a thousand people can all stand arm in arm and shit and it's totally fine they're walking past businesses they've forced closed because a week ago they were too scared of dying. What a crock of shit.

It's a spit in the face at everyone in their community whose lost their jobs, their businesses their livelihoods, their homes over the last several months. All of that was for nothing apparently, because a cop killed somebody in another country.

ETA: To FriendlyNormie, thanks for showing how all this is a bunch of lip service as you advocate murdering a random commenter publicly. You clearly care about your fellow human beings.

Re: The “Majority Illusion” in Social Networks (2016)

#44

Post by snowwrestler » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 6:43 AM UTC

nostromo wrote: post #6

This is a timely article. If I only viewed the world through my Facebook feed right now, I'd believe that everyone in the US wants to defund every police department. In reality it's an incredibly unpopular view among everyone, left, right, and center. https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/20... I think making this worse is that even a mild concern about this policy would be received very poorly on…

A poll from a week ago might be pretty out of date now. Americans' perceptions of the police fell about 10% during that time:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/06/amer...

An important factor to watch is how that phrase "defund the police" gets defined--see peer replies here for examples of how people can interpret it positively.

I predict some of the ideas behind it will indeed become mainstream and we will see police budgets fall in the next few years. LA's mayor has already committed to cuts, for example.

I would not underestimate the impact of social media to rapidly move ideas from the radical fringe to close enough to the mainstream to have political impact. See for example InfoWars, avoiding vaccines, "Q"-type conspiracies, heck even Donald Trump himself.

Re: The “Majority Illusion” in Social Networks (2016)

#45

Post by weitzj » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 6:47 AM UTC

About 2 years ago there was an online game/simulator where one could add “information blocks” onto network nodes and see if they become true.

It nicely demonstrated how things became a “fact”.

Does anybody have the link to it?

Re: The “Majority Illusion” in Social Networks (2016)

#46

Post by mistermann » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 6:49 AM UTC

askafriend wrote: post #32

grawprog wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in a small community outside America. On Saturday I left the mall where I'd been subject to the 'new normal' covid distancing laws shit. Stepped out into the sunshine to see over 1000 people marching down the street in one huddled mass protesting because...riots in America. I watched a car's window get smashed because they wanted to drive through an intersection and had the audacity to ask if they could drive…

I think you fail to understand just how prevalent these issues are for people of color every single day . Yes, these issues might be just a speck for you. But they're a stain on daily life for millions of people around the world (which is why you see people empathizing not just domestically, but internationally). Justifying one's existence and identity every single day is exhausting on a level that all other problems…

> I think you fail to understand just how prevalent these issues are for people of color every single day.

> Justifying one's existence and identity every single day is exhausting on a level that all other problems are simply irrelevant when existence is in question.

I struggle trying to figure out what this means in 2020, and I would think it would depend a fair amount on the individual and region where they live.

Is this observable mistreatment that people are receiving every day, or is it more of a constant sense of not belonging, like being an outsider of some kind?

Re: The “Majority Illusion” in Social Networks (2016)

#47

Post by watwut » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 6:51 AM UTC

grawprog wrote: post #43

watwut wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then it kind of sounds like people are protesting against issue that is actual issue they experienced in their community. And somehow it is not real for you, because they are not right color and should wait for other protests with matching color.

Hmmm, no i was responding to the actual content of the article which is pointing out social media is causing people to overreact to issues outside their area of influence because of what they see online. My point is, I watched a large majority of a community go out and protest over things in another country, ignoring the issues not only caused by the recent lockdowns that seem to matter nothing any more to these peop…

I was responding to your comments, trying to piece out what is happening where you live. I did not added up to being consistent, especially after I read whole thread. I understand it is because pieces are missing, but comments are whole I have.

Organizing actual in person protests takes effort, resources and pre-existing network of people. That does not happen out of nowhere. That goes for blm protests, anti-lockdown protests, white supremacists protests and anti-racist protests. Past historical mass protests also always had notworks of activists behind them, none happened without at least informal organizational structure existing.

The violence (smashing car) also does not happen out of nowhere. You dont have personally happy peaceful people reading something on Facebook suddenly going violent. There is series of escalations that takes months, getting used to violence step by step that leads to that.

Re: The “Majority Illusion” in Social Networks (2016)

#48

Post by ghthor » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 6:55 AM UTC

grawprog wrote: post #43

watwut wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then it kind of sounds like people are protesting against issue that is actual issue they experienced in their community. And somehow it is not real for you, because they are not right color and should wait for other protests with matching color.

Hmmm, no i was responding to the actual content of the article which is pointing out social media is causing people to overreact to issues outside their area of influence because of what they see online. My point is, I watched a large majority of a community go out and protest over things in another country, ignoring the issues not only caused by the recent lockdowns that seem to matter nothing any more to these peop…

Glad I believe in karma, because the people that cut down that old forest aren't coming back as humans for a very long time.

Re: The “Majority Illusion” in Social Networks (2016)

#49

Post by thedoctor79 » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 7:04 AM UTC

keenmaster wrote: post #12

ve55 wrote: post #8

I view this as the primary reason that protests and rioting have been significantly more widespread recently. In order for someone to feel good about protesting and rioting, it helps if people around them are doing it, so that it seems socially acceptable, and so that negative consequences are less likely to occur. Normally you would need to see this physically near you, but now with viral algorithms, all it takes is…

People don't usually protest in person unless they really believe in the underlying cause. There are developers on HN who worry about a 500 millisecond delay in their app because users are so fickle that half a second puts them off. If people don't have half a second of patience, how much does it take to motivate them to go to a protest, shout, march, and sometimes even risk their lives? Sure, if we're not careful, i…

500 milliseconds is huge. I don't know what that app does, but in my world if you have as much as 10 microseconds delay you've blown your time budget and you're missing all your KPI and your goals. Have you ever tried to have a voice conversation with a delay of half a second? It's a very frustrating experience. Also, if your framebuffer rendering pipeline has that kind of delay, the user will leave the app in frustration very fast.

Re: The “Majority Illusion” in Social Networks (2016)

#50

Post by askafriend » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 7:09 AM UTC

mistermann wrote: post #46

askafriend wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you fail to understand just how prevalent these issues are for people of color every single day . Yes, these issues might be just a speck for you. But they're a stain on daily life for millions of people around the world (which is why you see people empathizing not just domestically, but internationally). Justifying one's existence and identity every single day is exhausting on a level that all other problems…

> I think you fail to understand just how prevalent these issues are for people of color every single day . > Justifying one's existence and identity every single day is exhausting on a level that all other problems are simply irrelevant when existence is in question. I struggle trying to figure out what this means in 2020, and I would think it would depend a fair amount on the individual and region where they live.…

> Is this observable mistreatment that people are receiving every day

Yes.

There is a daily burden that comes with being Black in America that is very distinct and systemic. You can educate yourself on this topic, there's great material out there; I'm still learning too. It has very much to do with the default attitudes in a society where interracial marriage wasn't even legal until 1967. That's not that long ago.