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The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

theintercept.com

21–30 of 43 posts

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#21
post #2

Could it possibly be aggravated by the media telling us things that are obviously and immediately contradicted from what we see of raw, first person video accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube?

Back then 'the media' was a thing. Walter Cronkite would come on TV and tell everybody what was going on, and you'd see some footage of some guys in Vietnam looking miserable and that was it. That level of political simplification isn't an option anymore. We're no longer hidden from the complexities festering beneath the surface of everything happening around us.

I am pretty sure things back then were both similarly complex even though they appeared simple. Today, your FB feed is simple since it is auto-tuned to your beliefs.

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#22
post #2

Could it possibly be aggravated by the media telling us things that are obviously and immediately contradicted from what we see of raw, first person video accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube?

I'm sorry but I need an example. This is not my daily experience.

Here is an example where different sides end up with a completely different conclusions based on the same information: https://twitter.com/wokal_distance/status/129892365389613056...

It’s probably not worthwhile discussing this particular case in HN, but it’s not rare for me to scroll my Facebook feed and see completely different interpretations of the same event.

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry but I need an example. This is not my daily experience.

Here is an example where different sides end up with a completely different conclusions based on the same information: https://twitter.com/wokal_distance/status/129892365389613056... It’s probably not worthwhile discussing this particular case in HN, but it’s not rare for me to scroll my Facebook feed and see completely different interpretations of the same event.

It got submitted, but only got 4 points and 3 comments:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24282729

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#24

Robert Putnum has studied this extensively and was considered the domain expert until his results didn't match the ever changing requirements of adherence to political correctness. His work is still out there but even the linked article didn't bother to reference it. His data concluded the wrong thing so now it is to be shoved to the side so everyone can shrug their shoulders and pretend not to see what's at the hear…

Can you please provide context? Which results? Which rules of political correctness?

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#25
post #3
post #2

Could it possibly be aggravated by the media telling us things that are obviously and immediately contradicted from what we see of raw, first person video accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube?

It might be their narrative based journalism and their beliefs for what will happen if they tell their tall tales.

Narrative based journalism is just a cop out these days.

"Oh this report is not in line with my beliefs? must be an agenda."

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#26
post #2

Could it possibly be aggravated by the media telling us things that are obviously and immediately contradicted from what we see of raw, first person video accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube?

Back then 'the media' was a thing. Walter Cronkite would come on TV and tell everybody what was going on, and you'd see some footage of some guys in Vietnam looking miserable and that was it. That level of political simplification isn't an option anymore. We're no longer hidden from the complexities festering beneath the surface of everything happening around us.

On the contrary, that level of political simplification is needed now more than ever. It didn't get more complex. It simply got noisier. The signal is lost, and people are flooded with information constantly - there is simply no way to verify truth. No one has the time to fact check the 100 tweets they saw today, or the 20 posts they saw on reddit, or the 30 pictures they saw on instagram.

My grandfather would watch italian news on RAI TV. The news there had an anchor. The show started with the anchor reading headlines. Then they went into each headline with more detail. Very limited ads. Straight, to the point. We need more of that.

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think that's true of both sides? As a progressive, a lot of my frustration with "the other side" is that they seem to ignore what I'm seeing in the first person video accounts. However, I'm wondering if people on the other side feel the same way about me.

Maybe those who identify as a truth seeker instead of as a progressive or a conservative find it easier to see what is happening in the world. Where do your first person video accounts come from? Are the edited? Are the missing content at the start or at the end that other first person video accounts include? Would your sources ever admit this or would you have to go to "the other side" to find the video in its entir…

This is exactly the problem - no one has time to do this, nor do they want to.

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#28

>Many people fortunate enough to have survived this pandemic with their physical health intact It's just the flu for 90% of people. So this constant you are a 'survivor' for everything that happens to you can't be helping. We now take pride in anti-stoicism.

[dead]

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#29
>Why, in the world’s richest country, is every metric of mental health pathology rapidly worsening?

Simple. A lot of people are not having their needs met by "the system" while simultaneously feeling the resources are there to have their needs met.

People in third world countries seemingly deal much better in many ways in my experience. Although their needs aren't being met, they see no path to their needs being met, that just feels like reality to them.

People in the US who's needs aren't met have the thing they want thrown in their face to the point of absurdity constantly.

Re: The Social Fabric of the U.S. Is Fraying Severely, If Not Unravelling

#30

Robert Putnum has studied this extensively and was considered the domain expert until his results didn't match the ever changing requirements of adherence to political correctness. His work is still out there but even the linked article didn't bother to reference it. His data concluded the wrong thing so now it is to be shoved to the side so everyone can shrug their shoulders and pretend not to see what's at the hear…

Can you please provide context? Which results? Which rules of political correctness?

Not OP, but I think they refer to Putnam's work on the negative effects of diversity on social cohesion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_D._Putnam#Diversity_and...

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