>Â Cai says he has commented on posts to say that he doesn’t like them
There’s a fundamental misunderstanding of how these algorithms work here, because this behaviour signals to them that you want more of this content
I once accidentally got my Instagram to keep giving me wrestling memes – even though I have zero interest in it. I kept seeing them in my explore feed and clicking on them, because I couldn’t tell from a distance that they were about wrestling. After just a few days of purposely ignoring them and scrolling right past any that came up in my feed, they disappeared forever
There probably is an element of the algorithm looking for content that people of a similar profile engage with though, so that could be controlled more
Although “16 year old boy insists he doesn’t know why porn keeps coming up in his personalised feed” is quite funny
Simple_Bathroom2119 on
Yup! Social media is great in many ways but it has made us regress a lot.
People are way more racist and sexist and it’s only getting worse.
spackysteve on
Allowing massive profit seeking companies to have direct access to children on an individual level has and always will be a totally braindead move. For all the companies’ talk of implementing safety policies and monitoring, they don’t actually give a shit about the safety and happiness of children so long as they are making a healthy return out of it. And we should never expect them to.
corbynista2029 on
As it stands social media companies are not publishers, but surely if the algorithm is so strongly curating what you’re seeing, it must come to a point where they are considered publishers? People often compare them to a public bulletin board, but really they act more like a personal bulletin board for each individual, with each post highly curated and targeted. I don’t think this “bulletin board in a town square” analogy works anymore.
QuantumWarrior on
When I started using Instagram it kept insisting on showing me right wing talking heads, racism, sexism, homophobia, anti immigration, scummy techbros etc when the only information it had on me was that I was a man in my 20s.
Sure the algorithm can be massaged to stop this crap from appearing but it is quite scary what social media considers an acceptable blank slate.
BulkyAccident on
It’s interesting how the algorithms have also got way more *aggressive* – now just spending an extra 1 second or something watching a video on TikTok or Instagram (even out of morbid curiosity) will mean that it assumes you want to see more of it.
ajockmacabre on
1980’s: Death Metal is making children violent
2000’s: Videogames are making children violent
2020’s: Social media is making children violent.
Electric_Death_1349 on
I’m old enough to remember the good old days of rotten.com et al when 99% of online content was either porn or gore – these broccoli haired wimps don’t know they’re born!
BaBeBaBeBooby on
Algorithms are just machines that show you what you engage with. No more to it.
But articles such as this demonstrate that social media & smart phones aren’t appropriate for teenagers. Most adults aren’t mentally strong enough to cope with them, never mind kids.
Middle_Flight6995 on
I’ve had the issue on facebook which recommended me mysoginitic crap and transphobic content. I never engage with it but report it and yet it came and it came.
At some point I just deleted this shit.
Necessary-Product361 on
Social media companies are companies and will do whatever brings them most profit, which unfortunately means misinformation, hatred and conspiracy theories are allowed to thrive and are even encouraged by their algorithms. Just look at Twitter, since Elon took over it has become significantly worse, posts admiring Hilter, calling for violence, blatant eugenics level racism and straight up lies have been allowed to get tens of thousands of likes without any repercussions and are even often amplified by Musk himself. I hope Labour recognizes the role social media had in the riots, through radicalisation but also mobilization and organization. As much as I dislike censorship, we are at the stage now where the Government needs to enforce strict regulations on these companies and to view them as just like any other media outlet that requires high standards.
bobblebob100 on
This is problem with social media and algorithms. Soon as you engage you’re bombarded with articles.
Its why people get extreme views on race, immigration, covid etc because if thats all you see, thats what your brain thinks is reality
Whitechix on
I feel like young men/boys are just screwed as a demographic recently. From horrific suicide rates, higher victims violence, worse education outcomes, lower higher education attainment, higher percentage of NEETs, toxic culture/gender roles and now social media blasting them with loads of self destructive ideas compared to girls. The government has to make an effort and make them a focus of policy before we lose too many of them to extremism.
stxxyy on
If you don’t like the content, don’t click or comment on them. There’s usually a button you can press that says something like “don’t show this” or “not interested” or “show less of this” to help you out.
14 Comments
>Â Cai says he has commented on posts to say that he doesn’t like them
There’s a fundamental misunderstanding of how these algorithms work here, because this behaviour signals to them that you want more of this content
I once accidentally got my Instagram to keep giving me wrestling memes – even though I have zero interest in it. I kept seeing them in my explore feed and clicking on them, because I couldn’t tell from a distance that they were about wrestling. After just a few days of purposely ignoring them and scrolling right past any that came up in my feed, they disappeared forever
There probably is an element of the algorithm looking for content that people of a similar profile engage with though, so that could be controlled more
Although “16 year old boy insists he doesn’t know why porn keeps coming up in his personalised feed” is quite funny
Yup! Social media is great in many ways but it has made us regress a lot.
People are way more racist and sexist and it’s only getting worse.
Allowing massive profit seeking companies to have direct access to children on an individual level has and always will be a totally braindead move. For all the companies’ talk of implementing safety policies and monitoring, they don’t actually give a shit about the safety and happiness of children so long as they are making a healthy return out of it. And we should never expect them to.
As it stands social media companies are not publishers, but surely if the algorithm is so strongly curating what you’re seeing, it must come to a point where they are considered publishers? People often compare them to a public bulletin board, but really they act more like a personal bulletin board for each individual, with each post highly curated and targeted. I don’t think this “bulletin board in a town square” analogy works anymore.
When I started using Instagram it kept insisting on showing me right wing talking heads, racism, sexism, homophobia, anti immigration, scummy techbros etc when the only information it had on me was that I was a man in my 20s.
Sure the algorithm can be massaged to stop this crap from appearing but it is quite scary what social media considers an acceptable blank slate.
It’s interesting how the algorithms have also got way more *aggressive* – now just spending an extra 1 second or something watching a video on TikTok or Instagram (even out of morbid curiosity) will mean that it assumes you want to see more of it.
1980’s: Death Metal is making children violent
2000’s: Videogames are making children violent
2020’s: Social media is making children violent.
I’m old enough to remember the good old days of rotten.com et al when 99% of online content was either porn or gore – these broccoli haired wimps don’t know they’re born!
Algorithms are just machines that show you what you engage with. No more to it.
But articles such as this demonstrate that social media & smart phones aren’t appropriate for teenagers. Most adults aren’t mentally strong enough to cope with them, never mind kids.
I’ve had the issue on facebook which recommended me mysoginitic crap and transphobic content. I never engage with it but report it and yet it came and it came.
At some point I just deleted this shit.
Social media companies are companies and will do whatever brings them most profit, which unfortunately means misinformation, hatred and conspiracy theories are allowed to thrive and are even encouraged by their algorithms. Just look at Twitter, since Elon took over it has become significantly worse, posts admiring Hilter, calling for violence, blatant eugenics level racism and straight up lies have been allowed to get tens of thousands of likes without any repercussions and are even often amplified by Musk himself. I hope Labour recognizes the role social media had in the riots, through radicalisation but also mobilization and organization. As much as I dislike censorship, we are at the stage now where the Government needs to enforce strict regulations on these companies and to view them as just like any other media outlet that requires high standards.
This is problem with social media and algorithms. Soon as you engage you’re bombarded with articles.
Its why people get extreme views on race, immigration, covid etc because if thats all you see, thats what your brain thinks is reality
I feel like young men/boys are just screwed as a demographic recently. From horrific suicide rates, higher victims violence, worse education outcomes, lower higher education attainment, higher percentage of NEETs, toxic culture/gender roles and now social media blasting them with loads of self destructive ideas compared to girls. The government has to make an effort and make them a focus of policy before we lose too many of them to extremism.
If you don’t like the content, don’t click or comment on them. There’s usually a button you can press that says something like “don’t show this” or “not interested” or “show less of this” to help you out.