Hacker News Reader

Comment by waboremo | Hacker News Reader

None of those things are exclusive to social media, some of them aren't even bad (gossip), and the rest have equal positives (misinformation = abundant information, bullying = uplifting each other).

I always question what intention does someone have painting social media in such broad strokes. Especially when we consider who actively gains from narrowing where information can be accessed.

View on HN

I see your point, the problem with social media is the exposure and scale. Kids these days can't fool around like we did, someone is always recording and you can go viral. I read not long ago about kids with severe anxiety in school due to the constant fear of the wrong photo or video going on social media.

And the abundant information, is that really a good thing? How much of it is good? Remember the Trump election, the amount of outright lies thrown around and the level of polarization, with even family members unable to speak to each other.

I'm not saying there's nothing good at all between the mud, but on the whole I think it's been a disaster.

I think there was a sweet spot right before major social media adoption where lines were more clearly drawn. By that I mean you could find information if you needed/wanted to but you were constantly bombarded with it in tones that spoke it with 100% confidence with the sole purpose of getting you to click on something.

Information reduces uncertainty. A lot of talking or a lot of misinformation does not increase information but noise.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com