"Social Media" is societal cancer
Discussion
El stovey said:
It’s not abstaining, it’s just using these platforms in a way that suits you or is better for your wellbeing.
I use them but I don’t engage in 2 way communication with people I don’t know.
I’m not tweeting my opinions about politics and I don’t care what some strangers think either.
Social media is definitely creating poor behaviour but it’s entirely up to you how you respond to it or even if you receive any of it at all.
There’s all kinds of news media and social media, there’s no need at all to be getting abuse from strangers, it’s completely under your control how your interact with these different platforms.
i am having a hard time understanding the issue at all. i frequent a few forums related to activities i am/have been involved in. i don't do facebook, twitter, instagram or anything else, despite a fair bit pressure from others in groups i have involvement with that do use these platforms, to sign up. as you say, usage is under complete control of the individual.as an example, i can't for the life of me understand those that go trawling through twitter/facebook looking to get outraged at the latest utterance from the groups involved with that little kid at alder hey.I use them but I don’t engage in 2 way communication with people I don’t know.
I’m not tweeting my opinions about politics and I don’t care what some strangers think either.
Social media is definitely creating poor behaviour but it’s entirely up to you how you respond to it or even if you receive any of it at all.
There’s all kinds of news media and social media, there’s no need at all to be getting abuse from strangers, it’s completely under your control how your interact with these different platforms.
let them get on with it , if that is what they see as productive use of their time , who am i to argue. i certainly don't have to read their nonsense.
amusingduck said:
Shakermaker said:
Now then - you order loads online. What makes you decide what you want to order? We haven't yet got into the "premium product placement" bit either, or "Special Offers" etc - which can be adverts as well even when you are on the site you are purchasing from.
That's easy!You have a look at the offerings, and pick one that's near the top of the totally merit based system, based on reviews written by definitely real, objective people
Whilst many people here have jumped to defend their own social media habits, or that of their children, I think the OP makes a valid point about the wider effect on people in general, most notably the nations burgeoning stupid and easily led (surely no one on PH?).
You only have to look at the recent rise of Flat-Earthers to realise that social media provides a platform for otherwise isolated idiots to form a group. The same applies to politics and other important social concerns, thus we do potentially have a growing problem.
You only have to look at the recent rise of Flat-Earthers to realise that social media provides a platform for otherwise isolated idiots to form a group. The same applies to politics and other important social concerns, thus we do potentially have a growing problem.
What makes me order stuff? Need. Let's have a look back though rxe's deliveries for the last week in reverse chronological order.
1) Alternator regulator for an Alfa 3.2 GT. Can't even remember where I bought it from, somewhere in Germany. Stuck a part number in Google and a short list was returned.
2) A load of parts from Italia Ricambi for an Alfa 156. Never seen an advert for this particular company in Germany (might have been a forum recommendation). Hardly seen any ads for Alfa Romeo in the UK, ARUK are a pretty crap marketing organisation.
3) A 36" bar for a Stihl 075 chainsaw. I don't recall seeing ads for Stihl, my dad had one and he liked it. I liked it too, I've used them ever since.
4) A box of M10 socket caps, 1.25 fine thread, 45 mm long. Alfas again. Google returns a very short list of suppliers - most are 1.5 standard thread.
5) A Jabra 710 speakerphone. Someone at work had one, I liked it. They might have seen an advert for it, I hadn't.
6) A 64 GB SD card. Amazon -> 64 GB SD card, sort by price ascending. I don't actually know what brand it is, but it was less than a tenner, delivered.
7) A set of low profile 1/4 drive torx sockets by a company called Koken, supplied through UK Tools - never seen an ad for either of them. Koken are great, it was a US based forum recommendation.
That's my delivery list for the last week. It doesn't feel very advertising driven.
Online reviews are generally s
te. However, when someone who does stuff on a forum that is real (i.e. rebuilds cars, clearly does rebuild cars, not a paid shill) says "product X, supplier Y is great", I do take notice.
1) Alternator regulator for an Alfa 3.2 GT. Can't even remember where I bought it from, somewhere in Germany. Stuck a part number in Google and a short list was returned.
2) A load of parts from Italia Ricambi for an Alfa 156. Never seen an advert for this particular company in Germany (might have been a forum recommendation). Hardly seen any ads for Alfa Romeo in the UK, ARUK are a pretty crap marketing organisation.
3) A 36" bar for a Stihl 075 chainsaw. I don't recall seeing ads for Stihl, my dad had one and he liked it. I liked it too, I've used them ever since.
4) A box of M10 socket caps, 1.25 fine thread, 45 mm long. Alfas again. Google returns a very short list of suppliers - most are 1.5 standard thread.
5) A Jabra 710 speakerphone. Someone at work had one, I liked it. They might have seen an advert for it, I hadn't.
6) A 64 GB SD card. Amazon -> 64 GB SD card, sort by price ascending. I don't actually know what brand it is, but it was less than a tenner, delivered.
7) A set of low profile 1/4 drive torx sockets by a company called Koken, supplied through UK Tools - never seen an ad for either of them. Koken are great, it was a US based forum recommendation.
That's my delivery list for the last week. It doesn't feel very advertising driven.
Online reviews are generally s
te. However, when someone who does stuff on a forum that is real (i.e. rebuilds cars, clearly does rebuild cars, not a paid shill) says "product X, supplier Y is great", I do take notice. Edited by rxe on Monday 30th April 15:54
But you've just googled some of that - who decides what goes at the top of the list on your search engine returns? That's how Google make their money don't forget. It almost sounds like you will have bought from the first thing that came to the top of the list when you said "CHAINSAW - NOW!" in Google 
JohneeBoy said:
Whilst many people here have jumped to defend their own social media habits, or that of their children, I think the OP makes a valid point about the wider effect on people in general, most notably the nations burgeoning stupid and easily led (surely no one on PH?).
You only have to look at the recent rise of Flat-Earthers to realise that social media provides a platform for otherwise isolated idiots to form a group. The same applies to politics and other important social concerns, thus we do potentially have a growing problem.
There are positives and negatives. On the one hand hand, SM has also provides a platform for creationists to try and convert, but we also have around 10% of Americans willing to identify as having no religion, and this in a country where religion is king. Years ago they would have been isolated. You only have to look at the recent rise of Flat-Earthers to realise that social media provides a platform for otherwise isolated idiots to form a group. The same applies to politics and other important social concerns, thus we do potentially have a growing problem.
Would there have been the outcry over priests abusing children without the support network that SM provides? But the dark web allows the swapping of child pornography and therefore it creates a demand.
Whilst the nonsensical brigade take steps to defend their income, using the courts, come on forums and admit that you think water is the best medicine and there's a cost.
I don't think bigotry has decreased or a willingness to embrace difference increased, but both sides have a degree of support missing a few years ago.
Shakermaker said:
But you've just googled some of that - who decides what goes at the top of the list on your search engine returns? That's how Google make their money don't forget. It almost sounds like you will have bought from the first thing that came to the top of the list when you said "CHAINSAW - NOW!" in Google
Hardly. I got the bar from an outfit called L&S Engineers, a company I've used for, well, longer than Google has existed. I'll cheerfully give them a plug - very good service, competitive prices. I am not associated with them or paid by them in any way. The "top of the list" area of Google is IMO overblown. It's full of rubbish - eBay and Amazon links mainly. If I wanted eBay, I'd go there.
rxe said:
Hardly. I got the bar from an outfit called L&S Engineers, a company I've used for, well, longer than Google has existed. I'll cheerfully give them a plug - very good service, competitive prices. I am not associated with them or paid by them in any way.
The "top of the list" area of Google is IMO overblown. It's full of rubbish - eBay and Amazon links mainly. If I wanted eBay, I'd go there.
A poor workman blames his toolsThe "top of the list" area of Google is IMO overblown. It's full of rubbish - eBay and Amazon links mainly. If I wanted eBay, I'd go there.
If you don't want ebay/amazon, add "-amazon -ebay" to your search to exclude them - ie "stihl bar -ebay -amazon"
Derek Smith said:
JohneeBoy said:
Whilst many people here have jumped to defend their own social media habits, or that of their children, I think the OP makes a valid point about the wider effect on people in general, most notably the nations burgeoning stupid and easily led (surely no one on PH?).
You only have to look at the recent rise of Flat-Earthers to realise that social media provides a platform for otherwise isolated idiots to form a group. The same applies to politics and other important social concerns, thus we do potentially have a growing problem.
There are positives and negatives. On the one hand hand, SM has also provides a platform for creationists to try and convert, but we also have around 10% of Americans willing to identify as having no religion, and this in a country where religion is king. Years ago they would have been isolated. You only have to look at the recent rise of Flat-Earthers to realise that social media provides a platform for otherwise isolated idiots to form a group. The same applies to politics and other important social concerns, thus we do potentially have a growing problem.
Would there have been the outcry over priests abusing children without the support network that SM provides? But the dark web allows the swapping of child pornography and therefore it creates a demand.
Whilst the nonsensical brigade take steps to defend their income, using the courts, come on forums and admit that you think water is the best medicine and there's a cost.
I don't think bigotry has decreased or a willingness to embrace difference increased, but both sides have a degree of support missing a few years ago.
The question is; how do you fix the negatives without damaging the positives?
rxe said:
IMO a fairly big chunk of people are dropping off the radar quite quickly - I see hardly any ads online, and 99.9% of my goods by value are delivered. I'd no more go to Oak Furniture Land than go to the moon. About the only thing I physically buy these days is lunch.
If you want ad-free online either:
- Use Chrome and the Ublock Origin + Privacy Badger plugins
- Use Brave. Brave for IOS is a bit flaky, but on the PC it is the mutt's proverbials.
That's why OOH (out of home) is growing. Transport, gyms, roadside, anywhere eyes are on it. It's also why we'll see more product placement, in show ads (already on Youtube and in US TV), basically stuff you cannot block. Watch any US sports broadcast and they've just about got adverts in other adverts ffs.If you want ad-free online either:
- Use Chrome and the Ublock Origin + Privacy Badger plugins
- Use Brave. Brave for IOS is a bit flaky, but on the PC it is the mutt's proverbials.
This is a car forum. Everyone needs car insurance. Most people will use a comparison site. And 90%+ of them will have seen or heard hundreds of adverts for said sites. It's an industry which didn't exist until recently and is built on advertising. I don't even need to name the sites (or the one not found on comparison sites) because we all know them. Now you can say you didn't like the fat opera singer, or the meerkats but I bet we've all been on them, if not to buy then to check. That's been drip dripped relentlessly to the point that when we search we attach values, recognition etc to them.You don't need to have liked an ad, or even seen one recently. Then obviously they've paid handsomely to appear in the top listing, both paid and organic.
The same goes for any brand, it's not necessarily an overt ad that does it. It could be a grime artist name checking adidas on a track, Milwaukee giving a carpenter tools to use on Youtube, manipulation of search terms, it all works toward the end result. And it's essentially all the same thing.
I wonder if there is a tipping point at which it all becomes just noise?
Somehow, I doubt it, especially for the younger generation who have been raised with smartphones and social media.
In my mid-40's, I find myself actively avoiding as much social media, and indeed advertising in general as I can. I don't watch terrestrial TV anymore - preferring Netflix and Amazon.
However, seeing how my children use social media, and how integrated it is in to their lives, makes me feel old and out of touch. Perhaps in a good way though...
Somehow, I doubt it, especially for the younger generation who have been raised with smartphones and social media.
In my mid-40's, I find myself actively avoiding as much social media, and indeed advertising in general as I can. I don't watch terrestrial TV anymore - preferring Netflix and Amazon.
However, seeing how my children use social media, and how integrated it is in to their lives, makes me feel old and out of touch. Perhaps in a good way though...
redrabbit said:
Lanker22 said:
Rovinghawk said:
6', chunky but solid with it, co. director with extensive marital arts experience. I use FB to keep in touch with far-flung friends.
So basically you’re fat...Since you've asked, I thought the sign over the door said marital arts- they told me about how I could get my leg up high, take on 3 at once, etc. Once I signed up & walked through the door some bloke started hitting me....................
Was thinking about this out of home stuff earlier
Who is driving it really? Consumers started it yes. But since then companies have realised it is a massive winner. Supermarkets are pushing you further down hole delivery, meaning they need less staff, you now can sop entirely without talking or having any interaction with anyone (and would do if the checkouts were not such a pain in the arse)
Warehousing is going to entirely robotic in years to come, meaning an entire transaction from customer to delivery will only involve one human, the person delivering it.
No shop to rent, no staff to pay, no-one to pick the item in a warehouse, just the van driver to pick it up and deliver.
Customers might have started it, but companies are rapidly realising the most expensive link in their chain is staff.
We are out own worst enemy in some regards.
Zeigeist is coming, no more work lol!
Who is driving it really? Consumers started it yes. But since then companies have realised it is a massive winner. Supermarkets are pushing you further down hole delivery, meaning they need less staff, you now can sop entirely without talking or having any interaction with anyone (and would do if the checkouts were not such a pain in the arse)
Warehousing is going to entirely robotic in years to come, meaning an entire transaction from customer to delivery will only involve one human, the person delivering it.
No shop to rent, no staff to pay, no-one to pick the item in a warehouse, just the van driver to pick it up and deliver.
Customers might have started it, but companies are rapidly realising the most expensive link in their chain is staff.
We are out own worst enemy in some regards.
Zeigeist is coming, no more work lol!
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