this post was submitted on 19 Jun 2023
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A Boring Dystopia
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Rage is certainly one of the issues with social media, however psychological research indicates that one of the most harmful aspects is the comparative effect. That is, comparing ourselves to what others post about their lives. Since users typically only post themselves at their best, it creates a false narrative that we are inferior. This is highly resistant to rational thought and therapy. We can tell ourselves it's not true, but our lizard brain remains unconvinced. Kids in particular are susceptible to this.
I think it would be very difficult to create a psychologically safe type of social media for kids. First, the rage algorithms need to be turned off. Second, our natural inclination to rage needs to be blunted. I'm not sure how to do that without heavy moderation. Third, there must be no possibility of comparing ourselves. This seems almost impossible, even with an anonymised network. Someone will post a picture of their new, expensive car, or house, or vacation, or computer, or an achievement of theirs.