Why is social media so humourless?
17 hours ago
- - Social media humorlessness stems from 'context collapse', where multiple social contexts merge into one, causing misunderstandings.
- - Jokes fail online because they rely on shared audience expectations that are lost when contexts collapse.
- - Context collapse affects serious discussions too, such as debates about reading formats, where nuanced arguments are misinterpreted.
- - The short text format of platforms like X exacerbates context collapse, limiting space for necessary context.
- - Over-reliance on social media for information distorts understanding and hinders constructive discourse.
- - Solutions include reducing social media use and seeking information from specialized, siloed sources like RSS feeds, websites, or podcasts.