Social Divide is Created by Tech Companies, the Like Button (2017)

Social Divide is Created by Tech Companies, the Like Button

am starting to think, the social problem in USA, is created by tech companies. google, fb, tweeter, with the “like” buttons.

• ~10 years, ago, tech created gamify system, most notable is stackoverflow. Basically, the “like” buttons by Facebook, twitter, reddit, all.
• the purpose of the “like” button, is to use psychology to make users stay on the website more.
• “like” buttun is easy, brainless, and when u got “liked” ♥ 👍, there's satisfaction, and subtlety changes your behavior to get more likes
• the “like” button reduces typing, thinking, or any real feedback in a reply, reduces real communication, actual content.
• to get more likes, is more cat pictures, or short snappy zing humor that grabs attention, or captures what users feel. More meme.
• short emotionally moral posts, will also get liked, by people of your own ilk.
• brainless crowd pleasing remarks, tend also get liked. Such as we should help the weak, poor, or zen remarks on humanity, or Hitler should die.
• websites, also made it so that you are likely to see more things you liked, so you get more happiness when using the site.
• the effect of gamified sites, is wiping out intelligent content. YouTube, Twitter, Facebook , you don't get discussion anymore. just wisecracks n memes, that's easy to like.
• on reddit, where no char limit, effect is less, but still, top posts are things easy to “like”, pop thought, dissent voices gone.
• on political topics, it's a competition of creating “likable” zing. User go around ♥ all is on their side. Thoughtful or neutral posts become dregs.

most programers in Sillicon Valley, are pro sjw. But ask them to remove the “like” or gamify system that increase their website traffic.

twitter drives people to extreme views

When you retweet someone, you noticed, that if you write it such that it is positive, aka marketable, the original poster are much likely to favor it or even retweet.

if you retweet something you liked and want other to see, but with your own opinions attached, but you are less likely to be favored by the original poster. And thus, tweeter algorithm will not make it seen.

I learned this thru the years. This is one of the many ways, twitter is sinister. It drives extreme views. Twitter is that way, because it optimize for money. And the like button began by facebook, is exactly the same motivation.

when you post opinion, twitter will distribute it more if you tag other persons. e.g. write “i think @obama's policy …” instead of “i think obama's policy…”. Even if mention the person doesn't make sense. e.g. obama is busy, tagging him is actually not a right thing to do.

tagging another person also means, what you say needs to be “positive”, than any real opinion or criticism on things. So, tweets of true opinion is subdued, but more fake ass-kissing positive affirmative tweets. (this drives the sjw phenomenon)

all these, shape people's behavior on what/how they write. Real opinions get subdued, and dramatic, fake, memeable, angry, or marketable ones multiply.

then, to “fix” these problems, twitter/facebook, introduce ban/mute/report feature, that furhter cut discourse, but push people into bandits. This too, benefits twitter because it produces more anger, more tweets, it gets people emotionally tied. While makes twitter as the good guy.