Pyramid scheme. December 2023. Page Version ID: 1188350070. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pyramid_scheme&oldid=1188350070 (visited on 2023-12-08).
A pyramid scheme is a model that makes money by recruiting new members but not traditionally selling actual products
For social media content, replication means that the content (or a copy or modified version) gets seen by more people. Additionally, when a modified version gets distributed, future replications of that version will include the modification (a.k.a., inheritance). There are ways of duplicating that are built into social media platforms: Actions such as: liking, reposting, replying, and paid promotion get the original posting to show up for users more Actions like quote tweeting, or the TikTok Duet feature let people see the original content, but modified with new context. Social media sites also provide ways of embedding posts in other places, like in news articles There are also ways of replicating social media content that aren’t directly built into the social media platform, such as: copying images or text and reposting them yourself taking screenshots, and cross-posting to different sites
I sometimes see the same video on Tiktok posted by different accounts. However, some versions have different captions or background music, which can completely change how people interpret the original video.
[k2] Systemic bias. November 2023. Page Version ID: 1185361788. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Systemic_bias&oldid=1185361788 (visited on 2023-12-07).
Systemic bias occurs when the rules and practices of institutions or systems consistently favor certain groups while disadvantaging others.
# When social media platforms show users a series of posts, updates, friend suggestions, ads, or anything really, they have to use some method of determining which things to show users. The method of determining what is shown to users is called a recommendation algorithm, which is an algorithm (a series of steps or rules, such as in a computer program) that recommends posts for users to see, people for users to follow, ads for users to view, or reminders for users.
I find this a little creepy because I've had several experiences where I talked about something with my friends, and shortly afterward, social media started recommending related content or ads to me. It almost feels like my phone is listening to our conversations. I wonder how much information these recommendation algorithms actually collect about us.
Color blindness. December 2023. Page Version ID: 1188749829. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Color_blindness&oldid=1188749829 (visited on 2023-12-07).
Color blindness is a condition that makes it difficult for people to distinguish certain colors. It's usually inherited and is more common in males than females. However, most people with color blindness can adapt to daily life with special tools/technology.
Which abilities are expected of people, and therefore what things are considered disabilities, are socially defined [j1]. Different societies and groups of people make different assumptions about what people can do, and so what is considered a disability in one group, might just be “normal” in another.
Where should we draw the line between a disability and a normal human limitation?
Kurt Wagner. This is how Facebook collects data on you even if you don’t have an account. Vox, April 2018. URL: https://www.vox.com/2018/4/20/17254312/facebook-shadow-profiles-data-collection-non-users-mark-zuckerberg (visited on 2023-12-05).
If someone has never signed up for Facebook, is it fair for the company to collect their information through other people’s contact lists?
For example, social media data about who you are friends with might be used to infer your sexual orientation [h9]. Social media data might also be used to infer people’s: Race Political leanings Interests Susceptibility to financial scams Being prone to addiction (e.g., gambling)
This made me realize that keeping personal information private is not just about choosing what to post. Even if I never share my sexual orientation or political views, a platform might still try to infer them from my friends and interactions.
FBI–King suicide letter. November 2023. Page Version ID: 1184939326. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=FBI%E2%80%93King_suicide_letter&oldid=1184939326 (visited on 2023-12-05).
This source explains how the FBI sent an anonymous threatening letter toMLK Jr. in 1964, using information from surveillance to intimidate him. I think this is an interesting example of how harassment can be used not just to hurt someone emotionally, but also to control them.
If the immediate goal of the action of trolling is to cause disruption or provoke emotional reactions, what is it that makes people want to do this disruption or provoking of emotional reactions? Some reasons people engage in trolling behavior include: Amusement: Trolls often find the posts amusing, whether due to the disruption or emotional reaction. If the motivation is amusement at causing others’ pain, that is called doing it for the lulz [g6]. Gatekeeping: Some trolling is done in a community to separate out an ingroup from outgroup (sometimes called newbies or normies). The ingroup knows that a post is just trolling, but the outgroup is not aware and will engage earnestly. This is sometimes known as trolling the newbies. Feeling Smart: Going with the gatekeeping role above, trolling can make a troll or observer feel smarter than others, since they are able to see that it is trolling while others don’t realize it. Feeling Powerful: Trolling sometimes gives trolls a feeling of empowerment when they successfully cause disruption or cause pain.** Advance and argument / make a point: Trolling is sometimes done in order to advance an argument or make a point. For example, proving that supposedly reliable news sources are gullible by getting them to repeat an absurd gross story [g5]. Punish or stop: Some trolling is in service of some view of justice, where a person, group or organization is viewed as doing something “bad” or “deserving” of punishment, and trolling is a way of fighting back. See also: Wikipedia’s summary [g7]
I think it's interesting that trolling isn't always just about having fun or making others angry. Some people also use trolling to feel smarter, others may see it as a way to make a point or punish someone they disagree with.
[f32] Parasocial interaction. October 2023. Page Version ID: 1181960110. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parasocial_interaction&oldid=1181960110 (visited on 2023-11-24).
Parasocial interaction is when people feel like a online creator is their friend, even though that person does not really know them in real life. Watching their content regularly can make this connection feel stronger.
Inauthentic interaction can even be valuable. We might outright lie to someone to cover our tracks when planning them a surprise party. Once the surprise is revealed, the inauthentic interactions can be retrospectively reinterpreted, and offense is not taken. We play many different roles, and many different games, in the course of a social life, and sometimes we are more authentic than others.
This connects to the feeling of fear of missing out (FOMO) because people tend to present a perfect version of their lives on social media. When that image does not match reality, other users may compare their everyday lives to something that is not real and feel like they are missing out.
Bulletin board system. November 2023. Page Version ID: 1184559343. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bulletin_board_system&oldid=1184559343 (visited on 2023-11-24).
The article explains the history of BBS, which is an early form of online communication. People used BBS in a variety of ways: post messages, share files, chat, and play games. BBS was popular in the 1980s and 1990s and can be seen as a predecessor of modern online forums and internet-based social media.
The 1980s and 1990s also saw an emergence of more instant forms of communication with chat applications. Internet Relay Chat (IRC) [e7] lets people create “rooms” for different topics, and people could join those rooms and participate in real-time text conversations with the others in the room.
I feels like IRC can be seen as an early predecessor of modern communication platforms like Discord. This idea of creating different channels for different topics and allowing people to communicate in real time is still widely used today and has been developed into various branches. It's interesting how a concept from the 1980s remains such an important part of online communication nowadays.
[d23] Manuela López Restrepo. How the porn bots took over Twitter. NPR, March 2024. URL: https://www.npr.org/2024/03/07/1235784919/twitter-x-bots-social-media-elon-musk (visited on 2024-03-31).
The article explains that Musk’s cuts to content moderation made spam & porn bots more visible on X. Concerns about content safety and Musk’s leadership also leads to advertisers leaving the platform. As a consequence, social media platforms may amplify controversial content to increase engagement, even when this makes the user experience worse.
When we think about how data is used online, the idea of a utility calculus can help remind us to check whether we’ve really got enough data about how all parties might be impacted by some actions. Even if you are not a utilitarian, it is good to remind ourselves to check that we’ve got all the data before doing our calculus. This can be especially important when there is a strong social trend to overlook certain data. Such trends, which philosophers call ‘pernicious ignorance’, enable us to overlook inconvenient bits of data to make our utility calculus easier or more likely to turn out in favor of a preferred course of action.
How we should weigh the benefits and harms of posting a post on social media? Does utilitarianism allow a post which its overall benefits outweigh the harm? Even with complete data, people might judge the same outcomes differently. What one person sees as harmless entertainment could feel humiliating to someone else. How can we make a fair utility calculation?
In some corners of the internet, there can be more content from bots than from humans, so most of your interactions in those places might be from bots and not other humans. For example, you might get into heated arguments about sports, music, or politics, and be interacting with hundreds of accounts, but you might not realize they are all only automated bots. This is informally called the “dead internet theory.” [c1]
If I have an interesting conversation with an account and later find out it is a bot, does that make the conversation less meaningful?
[c2] Steven Tweedie. This disturbing image of a Chinese worker with close to 100 iPhones reveals how App Store rankings can be manipulated. February 2015. URL: https://www.businessinsider.com/photo-shows-how-fake-app-store-rankings-are-made-2015-2 (visited on 2024-03-07).
The headline says the image reveals how App Store rankings can be manipulated. However, the article says “if the above images are indeed real,” showing some uncertainty about the image. This could give readers who only read the headline a more certain impression.
Being and becoming an exemplary person (e.g., benevolent; sincere; honoring and sacrificing to ancestors; respectful to parents, elders and authorities, taking care of children and the young; generous to family and others). These traits are often performed and achieved through ceremonies and rituals (including sacrificing to ancestors, music, and tea drinking), resulting in a harmonious society.
Could Confucianism become a way of appearing respectful without actually feeling respect? If people follow them only to meet social expectations, could they make society seem harmonious even when people don’t really mean it?
# What do you think is the responsibility of tech workers to think through the ethical implications of what they are making?
I think social media has its pros and cons. If we want to enjoy its convenience and entertainment, we also need to recognize that not every risk can be eliminated. Developers cannot predict every harmful use, but they should keep improving safeguards to prevent known problems from that harm to be spread. Still, some damage to privacy or reputation may be irreversible by the time they respond. However, I don’t think all the responsibility should fall on developers. People who use technology to harm others should also be held accountable. Even strong safety measures cannot prevent every robbery or murder in the society we lived in , and online spaces face a similar problem. We need to learn how to navigate online risks, just as we do in reallife, while still expecting developers to address foreseeable harms.
“The Internet changes nothing on its own, but it can amplify existing forces, and those amplified forces might change something.”
Internet-based social media platforms encourage people to build their profiles and post different things to show their lives, personalities, and interests. People can create an ideal version of themselves online, or an image they want others to see. This makes me wonder whether social media changes how we present ourselves and creates a separation between our online and real-life identities. However, people also carefully choose their clothes, wear makeup, and try to make a good impression when socializing in person. From this perspective, social media seems to amplify an existing behavior rather than fundamentally change it.