surely, "Social Media Are Making Us Dumber"
[tongue firmly in cheek]
Social Media: Making Us Dumber?
21–30 of 119 posts
Re: Social Media: Making Us Dumber?
#22So the singularity is approaching even faster!
Re: Social Media: Making Us Dumber?
#23NYT requires a digital subscription.
Re: Social Media: Making Us Dumber?
#24As a liberal that subscribe to The NY Times I wonder why they always have to make these issues so politicized, even when they are making a good observation. The problem they describe, violent reaction to opposing views, seem present amongst all sides of the political spectrum and it does not seem limited to extreme opinions. The article seems in a very indirect way to make argument that violent reaction to and ostrac…
It seems there's no such thing as objective journalism. Was there ever, is this new, or just worse? Philosopher-based journalism might be an improvement, but sometimes even philosophers seem to be committed to a point of view.
Re: Social Media: Making Us Dumber?
#25This is great time to mention one of my favorite books on the media and public discourse: Amusing Ourselves to Death - Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, by Neil Postman. In the book, the two infamous dystopian novels of the 20th century (1984 and Brave New World) are compared to determine which one our world most closely resembles. The two books differ in how they describe the source of the dystopia. It's…
It's extraordinary how relevant this book still is. Postman was a student of McLuhan, but wrote in a much more accessible style.
Re: Social Media: Making Us Dumber?
#26This book comes to my mind. https://www.amazon.com/How-News-Makes-Dumb-Information/dp/08... Sommerville argues that news began to make us dumber when we insisted on having it daily. Now millions of column inches and airtime hours must be filled with information--every day, every hour, every minute. The news, Sommerville says, becomes the driving force for much of our public culture. News schedules turn politics into…
Anecdote:. I was at a bar tonight and noticed the tv had the same "breaking news" headline on for three hours. It wasn't breaking news, just news. News that wasn't even that important
Mark Blythe: https://youtu.be/TdivPhu-jTQ?t=380
Re: Social Media: Making Us Dumber?
#27As a liberal that subscribe to The NY Times I wonder why they always have to make these issues so politicized, even when they are making a good observation. The problem they describe, violent reaction to opposing views, seem present amongst all sides of the political spectrum and it does not seem limited to extreme opinions. The article seems in a very indirect way to make argument that violent reaction to and ostrac…
> The problem they describe, violent reaction to opposing views, seem present amongst all sides of the political spectrum and it does not seem limited to extreme opinions.
On all sides, sure, but saying that "violent reaction to opposing views" isn't necessarily the result of holding "extreme opinions" seems a bit oxymoronic. Or what exactly do you mean by "violent reaction"?
Re: Social Media: Making Us Dumber?
#28Is it not possible we were always this dumb but more that most of us talked less? This isn't beyond the standard "pub talk" but today that "pub" is the online world and published for all to see. Where previously you'd have reporters and sub-editors and editors to publish; today you can just run your mouth off whenever you want and the crowds can all hear. This sort of thing makes us _look_ dumber compared to the era…
So as before you would say 'dumb' things to your inner social circle of friends, with an occasional stranger overhearing. Today you can say those same things online, but instead of it just being your friends it's effectively on the public record and everyone can see and comment on what you said.
This reminds me of a story that Clay Shirky told about how one of his students/coworkers wanted to announce the breakup of her engagement. She carefully configured her settings on the FB, then changed her relationship status. But even so everyone knew in real time and she was deluged with questions and messages.
The reason both of these situations are so jarring is because everyone instantly sees this information, where as previously it took a lot longer to filter through the social graph.
Re: Social Media: Making Us Dumber?
#29It's not actually much about Social Media and the internet in general but the fact that some person/entity dictates the course of discussion, and you obviously can blame the people who follow them but at the end of the day most people like to conform themselves and associate with a group because that's how we evolved, in groups.(or better said tribes)
I surely wasn't around when the TV appeared, but i'm pretty sure it wasn't so much about the technology or the time spent on it, but more about the fact that the number between the people who come up with the content and the topics discussed and the people receiving the information is highly disproportionate.
The fact that you have NYT say, what in essence is alt-media,that is "making people dumber" it's kind of hypocritical.The article it's just a rage about the simple fact that an academic figure is more edgy than the vast majority. I would rather stop decaying the quality in the selection of topics through politics.
Re: Social Media: Making Us Dumber?
#30Is it not possible we were always this dumb but more that most of us talked less? This isn't beyond the standard "pub talk" but today that "pub" is the online world and published for all to see. Where previously you'd have reporters and sub-editors and editors to publish; today you can just run your mouth off whenever you want and the crowds can all hear. This sort of thing makes us _look_ dumber compared to the era…
This sort of thing makes us _look_ dumber
Context is important; your friends in the pub know when you are joking, or not entirely serious, or making a rhetorical point, or playing devils advocate, or are referencing an earlier conversation, or telling an inside joke, or have just misunderstood something. Random strangers on Twitter read everything as an unequivocal statement. And respond accordingly.