By "social media" we mean any large computer network that allows people to interact in shared communities. The big ones of course are Facebook, Twitter (X), and Instagram, but we can't forget newer platforms like Discord and Slack.
Dedicated video sites are off-topic here and YouTube has its own separate thread
.
What we should discuss in this OTC topic are news items, business operations, and activities by the networks themselves, not specific things posted by users. Those should go into threads appropriate to the subjects of those posts. For example, if an actor tweets about a film, we'd discuss that in the Media forum topic for the film, not here. If Facebook changes its policies, that could be discussed here.
The politics, motives, competency and wider business activities of the owners and leaders of social media companies (e.g. Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg) are also off-topic — except in situations where they are directly making specific policy for the platform.
Talking about a particular Instagram policy change (or a high-profile ban on a specific user) directly announced by Mark Zuckerberg would be acceptable in this thread, speculating about Zuckerberg's wider motivations wouldn't be.
The thread's also not about "dumb thing [public figure] said on [social media platform]". If there isn't a specific thread related to the subject of the statement (e.g. US Politics), then it's probably gossip and not worth talking about.
created back in 2020 that we never opened. Unfortunately, it's a little stale, so bumping it isn't going to work very well, but I would like to restart it. The reason I'm doing so is that the Computer Thread seems to have become the de facto place for this sort of talk, and it's a big tonal clash with talking about computer tech.
The hot topic of the day is Elon Musk's bid to acquire Twitter. We first discussed it in the Computer Thread, starting roughly here, and I am not going to rehash the entire discussion. Instead, I am going to resume from the last post:
CNBC: Twitter is reportedly taking another look at Musk takeover bid
Twitter's board is reportedly meeting with Elon Musk and may seek to negotiate on his buyout offer. Musk claims to have secured $46 billion in funding to buy the company at a valuation of $43 billion and is preparing to make a tender offer to its shareholders.
While the board has passed a poison pill, it could be facing resistance to that from groups of shareholders and will want to talk things out rather than face a hostile takeover. It's also possible that Twitter's stock could crash if the offer fails to go through.
Another possible topic was originally posted here.
Ars Technica: EU to unveil landmark law to force Big Tech to police illegal content
Following on from the recently passed Digital Markets Act, which requires large tech companies to unbundle first-party software from hardware platforms, the proposed Digital Services Act will require medium and large social media platforms and search engines to police hate speech and disinformation while adding additional protections for children against targeted marketing.
It also bans "dark patterns", which manipulate or trick people into clicking on ads or other content. The article doesn't explicitly say what that means, but I assume it includes things like disguising ads to look like parts of a site's user interface, hiding "close" buttons, and such.
For large companies, the requirements would go into effect immediately. For medium companies, they would have a grace period to implement the changes.
Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, has warned that Big Tech has become “too big to care.”
This phrase, "too big to care", intrigues me. It's an indictment of the idea that these companies have decided that growth and engagement metrics overwhelm any sense of social responsibility.
In my opinion, a law like this would be impossible in the United States, since it would be challenged (likely successfully) on First Amendment grounds.
Edited by Mrph1 on Dec 12th 2023 at 11:24:56 AM
I like to call it Ex-twitter."
Heh.
Like reflections in the glass!
I'm only dissapointe din Musk. Not everyones fault he decided to change the name
(I try to call it Twi X because it is close to a word that suits him well)
Redmess
It's not that big a deal to call it X, to be honest.
Optimism is a duty.
Professional Forum Ninja
I just take the mockingly overcomplicated way of "the site formerly known as Twitter".
At least one person can't go after me for using that slogan.
"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
Oh, bother.
I assume it's because he's been dead since 2016?
Disgusted, but not surprised
Redmess
News media seem to have settled on "X, formerly Twitter" or somesuch for the most part, which seems fine to me.
Optimism is a duty.
Redmess
Jonathan Haidt's "The Anxious Generation" talks about overprotective parenting and the lack of play in favour of overexposure to social media and the internet in Gen Z kids. These trends lead to psychologically fragile adults who can't cope with the real world.
Proposed solutions are to stop coddling kids so much, ban smartphones before high school, ban phones from schools, and ban social media before 16.
Optimism is a duty.
Unfortunately, that's going to require cooperation from several different moving parts (parents, employers, neighbors, police, teachers, mall security and city government, to name seven parts of the problem). Conversely, just restricting screen time won't help much, since a major reason they get so much screen time is because there's nowhere to "go outside and play" anymore.
she/her friend to the hooved
Maybe the generation who built eight-lane stroads through every town and is systematically getting rid of all the third spaces should take a step back from the conversation.
Nah, must be the kids with their phones.
(nevermind that 'can't cope with the real world' is a bit of a dogwhistle, not helped by my not being familiar with Jonathan Haidt.)
Edited by Chortleous on May 7th 2024 at 3:29:50 AM
Redmess
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Oh, absolutely, but this is mainly signalling the problem, which is valuable in and of itself.
That's a little unfair, and more than a bit ageist.
Also, those were my words, not his, I don't have a dog whistle radar, and don't care to get one. I just meant it as shorthand for people having trouble dealing with risk and stress because they didn't get the chance to learn to through play.
Optimism is a duty.
Oh, bother.
Tbh, older people should also be taking a step back from social media.
Edited by M84 on May 7th 2024 at 5:11:35 PM
Disgusted, but not surprised
Best Ogre
It's not wrong that the older generation has been systemically destroying anywhere kids could spend time out of their houses though.
SoundCloud
Oh, bother.
If anything, it's their obsession with social media that has fucked up children. You know why kids are growing up so damn self-conscious and anxious?
It's because their parents used them as props in social media posts starting from infancy and never stopped. Social media basically turned a whole bunch of parents into the worst kind of Stage Mom, using their kids to make their own lives seem cooler.
Don't forget that the older generation are also the ones who shove the phones and pads into their kids' faces to avoid having to parent them.
Edited by M84 on May 7th 2024 at 5:13:26 PM
Disgusted, but not surprised
So it's kinda like the whole "young people want their participation trophies" thing all over again (the people who actually insisted on that nonsense were the parents)?
Welcome to Estalia, gentlemen.
Redmess
Can you guys just watch the video first before judging?
Optimism is a duty.
Oh, bother.
Heck, the parents get started on the embarrassing crap even before their kids are actually born. Gender reveal parties...ffs.
Edited by M84 on May 7th 2024 at 5:17:54 PM
Disgusted, but not surprised
Redmess
Gender reveal parties are fine, within reason. It's the extravagant ones that make the headlines (usually because they go wrong somehow) that are the problem, not the concept itself.
Optimism is a duty.
Oh, bother.
No, the concept itself has been so tainted that even the person who started the trend begged people to stop.
The point is that it's the parents' social media addiction that is causing more damage to their children.
Edited by M84 on May 7th 2024 at 5:41:17 PM
Disgusted, but not surprised
Redmess
In the Netherlands, we've had a gender reveal party tradition of sorts since the middle ages, so I hardly think the idea has been tainted beyond redemption. Just because some people overdo it in the age of the internet doesn't mean it's ruined forever now.
Oh, bother.
Except the article itself notes that the "gender" part is a fairly recent thing that started in 1994 with the introduction of blue and white.
Also, off-topic.
The point again is that it's not really children being addicted to social media that has been causing them to grow up so anxious. That's also due to their own parents' social media addiction.
So if we really want to solve the problem, we need to deal with adults and their overuse of it.
Edited by M84 on May 7th 2024 at 6:13:34 PM
Disgusted, but not surprised
Redmess
You're right. Huh, I guess that was a bit before my time, I've only ever known the gendered variety, which is what everyone does now. I never realized that change was so recent. Newer Than They Think, indeed.
As for the addiction, yes, it's also the parents, but we can't just disregard the addiction from children either.
Edited by Redmess on May 7th 2024 at 12:22:32 PM
Optimism is a duty.
Yeah, but ultimately, if we're going to help the kids we need to start with their parents, as well as with the general cultural poisoning that has destroyed third spaces. As said, if there's no alternative to screen time...kids will have their devices.
Redmess
But that's what Haidt is saying, right? He isn't saying the kids need to change, or that they are at fault. He is saying the parents are overparenting in some ways, and not parenting enough in others.
Optimism is a duty.
Best Ogre
The problem is parents don’t really have the option to provide children with other things to do. Parks, malls, all sorts of things are being closed and demolished. Schools are being underfunded, eliminating afterschool extracurriculars. And frequently it takes two full-time jobs to raise a kid now, leaving no parent available to do anything other than the essentials like cooking and cleaning.
Edited by ShinyCottonCandy on May 7th 2024 at 6:46:22 AM
SoundCloud
I'm disappointed in everyone who is calling Twitter X now.
Never trust anyone who uses "degenerate" as an insult.