this post was submitted on 03 Nov 2024
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Social media surely makes it worse but blaming the problem on that lets individuals off the hook. At the end of the day it is everyone's responsibility to discern what is true from what is not. Being led astray does not remove your role in allowing that to happen.
I'm not sure I entirely agree about the personal responsibility.
I mean, it feels right that people are responsible for the views they hold and the actions they take based on them.
Otoh it also feels like blaming the addict for their addiction or the cult member for being exploited.
I'm really conflicted and I don't think I can reach a clear cut conclusion.
I'm leaning towards the cult leaders here.
Tech companies literally pour billions into optimizing thier products for engagement, aka making them addictive. Its historically unprecedented.
Sure, people are individually responsible, but as a whole, how is the population supposed to fight that?
To clarify I meant responsibility like when people act on their shitty beliefs (e.g. Jan6).
I don't know. It feels like such a losing battle.
Maybe it all boils down to the dumb luck of coming across the right viewpoints at the right moment? But we're in a world where you fall so easily into echo chambers where you won't see those viewpoints, get increasingly isolated, and your social relationships hinge more and more around these beliefs...
And that's a scary thought.
I was lucky and grew past my Catholic conservative upbringing. But I might've not as well. I would've missed everything that makes my current life worth living...
In the meantime this is a situation that has been ongoing since the advent of mass media. It has evolved, became more individualized and targeted, but its core hasn't really changed since at least the beginning of the 20th century. And still we haven't found a satisfying response since then.