Technology @lemmy.world wayl @lemmings.world 1 yr. ago

The Age of Social Media Is Changing and Entering a Less Toxic Era

www.businessinsider.com Great news — social media is falling apart

I don't know where to post: there are too many social platforms, and the old giants are dying. The age of social media is splintering.

39 comments

I seriously doubt this. You have to be very conscious to fully understand what it is these large platforms actually do "behind the scenes". Unfortunately the vast majority of people imo is either completely oblivious or even worse, doesn't care. I mean look at the immense success of tiktok. Numerous warnings that it's nothing less than straight-up spyware from China, yet half the world happily continues to use it.
- eh, most other social media sites have been nothing else but spyware from the US, some of them for over a decade
  
  If anything, that just reenforces his point though
  
  Agreed
- I have a friend that uses Tiktok. He has never posted a video on there, just watches crap.
  
  He went to bed one night in August and mentioned that overnight, as he slept, the Tiktok app sent/received 8.6 gbs of data as he slept, the app was closed, screen locked.
  
  I can only imagine what the Tiktok app does if you have a son/daughter with Tiktok on their phone (whether you know or not) and work for a state/federal government.
  
  Very unsettling.
  
  Engineering degrees don't always equal smarts, sometimes it's just hard work and a talent in math. I worked with a guy who was graduating with a degree in structural engineering and the guy legitimately thought that vaccines caused autism and that the moon landing was faked. I asked him to let me know what bridges he would be working on around the city so I could be sure to avoid them, then I had to have a talk with HR about bullying in the work place lol
  
  I wonder if it's just preloading videos or something?
  
  It doesn't take that much data to spy on someone, unless they're sending uncompressed recordings of your friend snoring or something.
- I mean the counter I hear is valid, "and Facebook is spyware from the US."
  
  Facebook is spyware from a company based in the US. But because of China's economic structure TikTok is a tool of the CCP itself.
The irony of this article asking me to read it in an app, Christ.
Bullshit
Translation: Please don't leave! We need to exploit your private data! 😥
- huh? this article isn't saying anything like that.
  
  ~~No but they're trying to manufacture the appearance that it'll get better so you'll stick around. It's "baby I'm sorry, I know I fucked up but I promise I'll change".~~
  
  They're right; the article is partly about the fediverse.
  
  Though none of these platforms have tried to make money yet, there are a variety of business paths: Like Threads, platforms could turn to in-app ads, or like Mastodon, platforms could turn to grants, donations, and sponsorships. Since the business model shapes how the platform works, people would be free to set up shop on the platforms they prefer.
Not on my watch, goddamn it
- We shall flame them on the beaches, we shall flame them in the streets.
Lol, that’s just bad propaganda
Lmfao, thanks, I needed a good laugh to start my day with..
This is the best summary I could come up with:

As people grow tired of toxic and addictive platforms that undermine real social connection, this new wave of social-focused upstarts could end up producing a healthier online environment.

Major platforms such as Facebook have long abandoned their goal to "bring the world closer together" in favor of "profit-motivated and engagement-inducing designs" that keep us hooked and drive growth, Ben Grosser, an artist and faculty associate at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, told me.

No matter how fun group chats and breakout social apps such as BeReal are, I've missed the borderless experience that large platforms offer — a place where I can discover viral content, expand my network, and participate in global conversations.

At its best, Steve Teixeira, the chief product officer at Mozilla, said that social media facilitated connection, regardless of geographic or temporal boundaries, and helps people stay informed, encounter novel ideas, and access vital services.

And experts have found that a collection of networks would "optimize itself solely for public good," rather than fall into the pitfalls of traditional platforms — an unhealthy obsession with metrics and meaningless interactions.

It's hard to predict the future, least of all when it comes to online services where new apps can go viral — and then fail — in a flash, but the breakup of monolithic social-media platforms and the rise of myriad new social experiences has felt like an urgent, long-overdue turn of events.

The original article contains 2,074 words, the summary contains 239 words. Saved 88%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
- Well shortened, but most of the meaning got lost.
  
  TL;DR:
  
  The big platforms are losing pull and users, more small platforms or group chats emerge.
  
  That makes it harder for people or public entities to reach a big audience.
  
  Then I stopped reading.
- Good bot
Permanently Deleted
- Lol I'm not a bot. I just tried to post a link to engage with this Reddit alternative. ...
I literally deleted my accounts on those exact 3 sites as the thumbnail just 2 days ago.

I'm in this picture and I like it.
Or potentially finding newer and more exciting ways to be toxic. But I'll hope for that first thing.
meanwhile, the fuck spez collage sores reddit usage. elon responds by sending over boxes of condoms via uber eats.
- Delicious!
Nah we're about to Come to a point where we can't even afford to shitpost because they're making everything suck or paid.

Also I need social media to stay just a little bit toxic, you motherfuckers <3
Businessinsider writing in defense of big business. I'm shocked.
- Did you open the article?
  
  The author describes how they themselves don't use the big platforms anymore and how they've degraded.
  They even talk about decentralization, mastodon, finding smaller nicer communities and how a healthier internet might look.

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