The irony of posting on social media about social media is not lost on me...
Let's talk about "censorship" and social media. I see a lot of posts about "rights violations" by social media sites following the closing of Donald Trump's Twitter/Facebook and the removal of Parlor from Amazon hosting services. Some tidbits:
-Facebook, Twitter, etc are private companies, and are not subject to the First Amendment the way the government is. An analogy would be an office building that lets people paint small murals on their wall. Although it's your paining, it is their wall, and they can tear the building down, repaint, or chip away your mural whenever they want.
-Businesses are free to host or not host whatever apps they want, just as you are free to business with them, or make your own site.
-This is not new. Facebook Twitter, Google, etc have been shaping narratives and excluding information for years.
-Moderation is valuable. Harmful, false, or illegal information spreads quickly and it is hard to put the genie back in the bottle.
-These companies owe you nothing. They are not your friends, they are not your supporters, no matter where you are on the political scale compared to them. Today it is this issue, tomorrow, their political leanings will turn when a new tax bill or something comes out.
The root cause of most people's discomfort with this is that they fear they are being "silenced". This feeling is rooted in a base-level misunderstanding of social media... Social media is designed to feel like everyone seated in an auditorium while you read off your thoughts on an issue before everyone applauds. In reality, it is a middle-school cafeteria. Hectic, loud, full of cliques, and with no organization for a real discussion of the issues. If you want a discourse, go do it in person, or at least on a video call. Tone, facial expressions and body language are key elements of the human communication experience, and complicated, touchy issues like politics, and religion need them to be sincere and impactful. We MUST recognize the echo chambers that social media places us in, and seek TRUE relationships with people that can result in meaningful growth for everyone involved.
Whether these changes upset you or not, take this opportunity to break free of social media! Take this opportunity to gaze introspectively at your values and how you live them, not through a political lens, but a community one.
RickMuffy on January 27th, 2021 at 22:01 UTC »
Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences.
BanannyMousse on January 27th, 2021 at 22:20 UTC »
The conservative ego is fragile as a fucking snowflake ❄️
trippedonmyface on January 27th, 2021 at 22:36 UTC »
Borrowed from a friend of mine:
The irony of posting on social media about social media is not lost on me...
Let's talk about "censorship" and social media. I see a lot of posts about "rights violations" by social media sites following the closing of Donald Trump's Twitter/Facebook and the removal of Parlor from Amazon hosting services. Some tidbits:
-Facebook, Twitter, etc are private companies, and are not subject to the First Amendment the way the government is. An analogy would be an office building that lets people paint small murals on their wall. Although it's your paining, it is their wall, and they can tear the building down, repaint, or chip away your mural whenever they want.
-Businesses are free to host or not host whatever apps they want, just as you are free to business with them, or make your own site.
-This is not new. Facebook Twitter, Google, etc have been shaping narratives and excluding information for years.
-Moderation is valuable. Harmful, false, or illegal information spreads quickly and it is hard to put the genie back in the bottle.
-These companies owe you nothing. They are not your friends, they are not your supporters, no matter where you are on the political scale compared to them. Today it is this issue, tomorrow, their political leanings will turn when a new tax bill or something comes out.
The root cause of most people's discomfort with this is that they fear they are being "silenced". This feeling is rooted in a base-level misunderstanding of social media... Social media is designed to feel like everyone seated in an auditorium while you read off your thoughts on an issue before everyone applauds. In reality, it is a middle-school cafeteria. Hectic, loud, full of cliques, and with no organization for a real discussion of the issues. If you want a discourse, go do it in person, or at least on a video call. Tone, facial expressions and body language are key elements of the human communication experience, and complicated, touchy issues like politics, and religion need them to be sincere and impactful. We MUST recognize the echo chambers that social media places us in, and seek TRUE relationships with people that can result in meaningful growth for everyone involved.
Whether these changes upset you or not, take this opportunity to break free of social media! Take this opportunity to gaze introspectively at your values and how you live them, not through a political lens, but a community one.