Comment by EA-3167 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by EA-3167 | Hacker News Reader

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I keep waiting for people to understand that algorithmic social media communities that serve ads and harvest info are pure poison. The problem is that everyone thinks they've got it under control, for them it isn't a problem or it's a manageable one.

My personal view is that if you take a personal, not a preaching stand early and often people just learn that's who you are. I've never had a Myspace or FB or IG, or any other sort of account like that. To all of the people who say they can only stay in touch that way I just said, "I'm available via text, phone, chat group, Discord, email, Signal, and half a dozen more ways. If that isn't easy enough then maybe we don't need to keep in touch."

The only reason I can imagine seriously engaging with those things is as a business owner who watched FB railroad them into advertising there or being screwed, and happily I've never been in that position.

So yeah... at some point you have to accept that most people will happily dig in, and even most people who have qualms will find ways to justify why it's ok FOR THEM. You just have to make your own choice and stick with it, firmly and politely.

> You just have to make your own choice and stick with it, firmly and politely.

100%

That's the way to go.

And tbh, not being on FB hasn't affected my social life. I'm in touch with people {friends | family | colleagues | etc} the way I want. And if I miss any social events, that's Ok. No FOMO here. Mostly JOMO.

>social media communities that serve ads and harvest info are pure poison.

The biggest problem is that we have virtually zero cases of anyone dying from this poison after 25 years of it.

When people step back and look at the lives of people who never spent the time to block everything, they see what 25 years of ingesting this poison looks like and...there is virtually no difference. If anything it's those types who spend less time online - all the better.

I'm not saying there won't be a reckoning in the future, but for right now, the evidence it's "poison" is pretty thin.

We have plenty of cases of people dying as a result of their social media use or someone else's, both in a somewhat direct sense (sextortion, other crimes that put the victim under immense pressure), or indirect sense (Mobs being whipped up online that riot and kill people, something not at all uncommon in parts of Africa and SEA).

You're also ignoring the enormous role that social media played in the rise of ISIS, and their ongoing recruitment and terror efforts. The "mommy bloggers" who share terrible, unmoderated advice ranging from somewhat harmful to downright lethal.

How many kids killed themselves as a result of bullying that followed them every waking moment through the net, almost always via social media?

You don't need a time machine to see the harm, if what you need to see is actually a body count. For the rest of us the psychological and behavioral impact is negative enough without needing to taking 'pure poison' overly literally.

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