1. We are all products of our environment
2. The internet and social media is becoming a higher percentage of our environment every day
3. Large parts of the internet and social media makes money by occupying our attention
4. The best way(that we know of) to occupy our attention for long periods is through hyperbolic/enraging material
^^^ Doing this long enough leads to enraged/hyperbolic population and I don't know of a reasonable way to stop it :(
Social media becoming a higher percentage of our environment means that it becomes a higher percentage of our reading. That means it becomes a higher percentage of our mind. That's... rather disturbing.
as above, curation is the main skill of the future, you can use youtube to watch stupid cat videos or to watch self development content, it is up to the viewer. if you are willing to read lies, you deserve to be deceived.
with the current abundance of information and possibilities it is a blasphemy to argue that people are manipulated, they are rather choosing this by being lazy or not curious enough or because it already confirms their biases / beliefs.
it is sad to see that people replicated the TV (Tell-Me-Vision) model on the internet.
I feel that people are manipulated on social media mostly by opinions/narratives and not incorrect facts. These opinions end up guiding how we feel about facts.
Example:
Fact -> Maga protesters stormed the capital
Opinion 1 -> "These protesters will be looked at as heroes for trying to protect our democracy"
Opinion 2 -> "These protesters are fools to do such a dangerous thing for a president that doesn't care about them"
I believe that depending on if you get more Opinion 1's or 2's on your feed, it probably will eventually shape how you feel about the fact. Sad thing is most of the time these opinions are hyperbolic and not balanced.
What if you don't know if it's lies or not. Which party is responsible for a solution? Should people "wake up" first or should we as a society punish those who prey on the unknowing?
This is too simple a statement. Most lies aren't advertised as such, so you are presuming:
1) subject matter expertise in every reader
2) a mental framework of truth and trust to accurately evaluate a source
Yes, critical thinking skills are important, but they must be taught, cultivated and honed to be effective. And even then, the deception skills of most (successful) deceivers are greater than the thinking skills of the general population. Remember that most deceivers have university degrees in sociology, psychology, marketing or economics.