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Study finds growing social circles may fuel polarization

phys.org

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Re: Study finds growing social circles may fuel polarization

#101

Post by goopypoop »

yieldcrv wrote: post #50
gus_massa wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many of my friends live abroad. We started a weekly Zoom meeting during Covid-19 lockdown. Now we have a WhatsApp group too. Does that change the classification from plain friends to close friends?

Oh god flashback, I remember the zoom calls, and people acting like they didn’t know how zoom worked 10 months into it or that the host can mute anyone that doesn’t know how to mute themselves I opted out of the extended family ones and the social ones I wonder if they’re still doing that, I’d rather watch paint dry, which I did for a few months in San Francisco

> I'd rather watch paint dry, which I did for a few months in San Francisco

did it dry in the end?

Re: Study finds growing social circles may fuel polarization

#103

Post by nativeit »

> What disappears as a result is a societal baseline of tolerance—a development that could contribute to the long-term erosion of democratic structures. To prevent societies from increasingly fragmenting, Thurner emphasizes the importance of learning early how to engage with different opinions and actively cultivating tolerance.

That could be a problem, considering how the push back to "actively cultivating tolerance" has unfolded so far.

Re: Study finds growing social circles may fuel polarization

#104

Post by [deleted] »

txrx0000 wrote: post #28
0xbadcafebee wrote: post #11

In-group dynamics are further ingrained as the group gets bigger. If you have 4 friends in a group, their opinions aren't as strong. If you have 40 friends in a group, not only are their opinions stronger, they'll fight vigorously to defend the group's commonly accepted beliefs. So a growing social circle does reinforce the group dynamic. (this is well established by lots of studies) But increased polarization around…

Before the Internet and social media, groups had a practical size cap because they had to meet up in person. Polarization was naturally limited. I don't think the social media companies' algorithms are entirely to blame. But more broadly it's centralized moderation of public online spaces. Moderation of public behavior of physical spaces was only necessary because it wasn't possible to selectively filter people's inf…

[deleted]

Re: Study finds growing social circles may fuel polarization

#105

Post by ants_everywhere »

regularization wrote: post #99
ants_everywhere wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO these should be required reading for anyone unfamiliar with Chomsky's positions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_genocide_denial#Chom... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_genocide_denial https://www.monbiot.com/2012/05/21/2181/ (Chomsky defending the decision to write a foreword for a book denying the Rwandan genocide) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faurisson_affair (Chomsky signed a petition supporting…

The new editor-in-chief of CBS News, Bari Weiss, has been publishing genocide denial pieces, pointing ro various children dying in Gaza as false stories. That happened this week, you seem to be concerned that Chomsky signed a petition for Faurisson on the 1970s, that he should not be jailed for publishing his book on the holocaust. Chomsky signed hundreds of letters for jailed Soviet dissidents, Turkish authors on tr…

It sounds like we both agree that genocide denial is a serious matter. By familiarizing themselves with the links I put above, people will be able to make an informed opinion on Chomsky's engagement with it.

Re: Study finds growing social circles may fuel polarization

#106

Post by jeffbee »

almosthere wrote: post #91
jeffbee wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Go make a list of the felony theft threshold in all fifty states then come back here and post where $950 falls among them.

https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/criminal-def... In Texas even if you steal $100 you can go to jail for 180 days. The nuance in CA (before it recently changed) was that there was absolutely NOTHING you could do if they stole 3 lawnmowers. Besides why fight this? You already know you're wrong.

The penalty for misdemeanor larceny in California is also 6 months in county jail and that has been true continuously since Spanish rule to the present day. The difference between Texas and California is that in California you can do 3 years in state prison for stealing $1000 and that is not the case in Texas.

Re: Study finds growing social circles may fuel polarization

#107

Post by lotsofpulp »

MattGaiser wrote: post #82
kulahan wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They probably aren't the friends people are thinking of when referring to things like this. The benefit of friends isn't just that you have someone fun to talk to, it's that you're building out a social support circle. Your discord friends can't come over and help you clean up after a flood, or watch your dogs while you're away on a sudden emergency, or cook you a meal when you're grieving a loss, or help you get an…

This is an interesting argument, as by the first definition, I have more close friends than ever. If I need someone to make me food, I don't have a friend who is either nearby or has time for that. On the other hand, I can buy all those services on an app for the most part. People I enjoy talking to for hours on end aren't available for $20 anywhere.

This comment is really funny to me for reasons I can’t quite articulate.

Re: Study finds growing social circles may fuel polarization

#108

Post by yieldcrv »

goopypoop wrote: post #101
yieldcrv wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh god flashback, I remember the zoom calls, and people acting like they didn’t know how zoom worked 10 months into it or that the host can mute anyone that doesn’t know how to mute themselves I opted out of the extended family ones and the social ones I wonder if they’re still doing that, I’d rather watch paint dry, which I did for a few months in San Francisco

> I'd rather watch paint dry, which I did for a few months in San Francisco did it dry in the end?

I stopped paying attention and did something entrepreneurial then left

Re: Study finds growing social circles may fuel polarization

#110

Post by cnoolean »

For years, I have had very few close friends, fewer than mentioned as previous average, I’ve withdrawn almost completely from social media, and I’m still polarized, because there are only two major political sides in the U.S., and which news source you listen to drives your opinion.
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