Are a few people ruining the internet for the rest of us?
10 months ago
- #psychology
- #misinformation
- #social media
- Social media presents a distorted view of reality, amplifying extreme voices while muting moderate ones.
- A small fraction of users (10%) produce the majority of political content, including misinformation.
- Platform algorithms prioritize divisive content, further skewing perceptions of societal norms.
- Most people are not actively engaging in toxic behavior online but are overshadowed by hyperactive users.
- This distortion leads to pluralistic ignorance, where people misjudge others' beliefs and behaviors.
- Users can mitigate these effects by curating their feeds and avoiding outrage-inducing content.
- Platforms could redesign algorithms to promote more representative and nuanced content.
- Experiments show that reducing exposure to divisive content decreases animosity towards opposing groups.