Topic: The Chit Chat Thread

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Yeah ditto for me to what others have said — Push Square is really the only ‘social media’ that I engage with, and a little of PSN obviously. I’ve been told I should use Reddit, but I worry that it would just pull me into endless rabbit holes. I tend to exist on the other end of the spectrum from @Jimmer-jammer in that my misapprehension of the popular social media platforms has worsened over the last several years. I think it started to really tank when I watched “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix. I even have started to steer away from using Google and its associated products when I can avoid it. I know it comes across as ‘tin foil hat’ conspiratorial, but it feels like that the monetization aspects of these platforms has overshadowed any and all moral principles.

I think some of the entities have tried to curb their platform to make them less toxic and have put up guardrails (like I think Tik Tok and others will send you a warning message if you’ve been scrolling endlessly on it for too long) but at the end of the day most platforms make money by keeping your eyes on the screen and its ads and they do so by computer algorithm driven bait which results in echo chamber creation and effectively discarding truth, equity, and balance in favor of enslaving the commodity of your attention and ideals. Most of these outlets can too easily manipulate the populace and although freedom of expression is a good thing, the Wild West of social media is a deceptive illusion of freedom. And I don’t mean the debate about censorship of loose cannons spreading open lies or the muzzling of dangerous falsehoods - rather I mean that the way some social media presents the world to its patrons paints unrealistic impressions and tends to drive people toward more and more extreme stances.

I mentioned this when discussing the recent election but the ‘illusory truth principle’ can be escalated very, very quickly when it sends these messages in a steady constant stream of 10 second intervals. In one engaged afternoon a person can essentially be brainwashed.

Also, there’s some solid data that says the most productive communication and exchange of ideas occurs with face to face interaction. There’s no substitute for breaking bread with our peers and it’s just a much better way to form views about the world and our fellow humans.

All this being said, I really enjoy interacting with the users here on Push Square. It’s a nice way to connect with a relatively niche community that I otherwise could not find in the ‘real world’. Also, the engagement is not manipulated (that I know of) by AI driven individual profiling and steerage toward certain articles or discussions. I know users will often complain on the front page about “click-bait” articles and headlines, but these aren’t nefariously fed to us through a prism which excludes other conflicting ideas.

I apologize for being so negative but like so many other inventions, what started as something good and useful we turned into a weapon and a way to profit. And I understand that social media and internet interactions aren’t unique in their attempts to constantly maximize engagement for profit. Nearly every industry uses misleading advertising or an addictive component of their product to keep you coming back, be it the food industry, the car industry, tech, all forms of entertainment including sports, movies, and music, etc, etc. But the difference is the nature of how social media changes how humans interact with one another rather than just how one spends their own time. I’m pretty laissez-faire with how other people want to entertain themselves, but I’m not a fan of exploitation of the fabric of society.

Some interesting and variegated opinions there ,chaps. I'd say social media is a platform that can be used for good or ill, depending on the user and their intentions. Just to change the subject slightly now, and, perhaps lighten the mood somewhat, I will now divert matters back to gaming-related discussion.

I am planning to take an extended break from gaming after completing Elden Ring, if I can complete it. It's been a long journey, but that would be the last of the Miyazaki-helmed video games in the Souls/Soulslike series that I complete, and the remaining games out there that I am interested in are limited, I want to savor them.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Do whatever you feel is right for you brother. Elden Ring is an epic undertaking so I understand this would be a good stepping off point to explore other interests. I’d only add that you should definitely keep the door ajar as you never know when something might inspire you to pick up a controller.