What About the Cats?

Welcome

Article from Issue 255/2022
Author(s):

The sorry state of discourse on the Internet has many causes, and the experts have offered many solutions for the mess. One of the biggest problems is the way that social media platforms reward engagement.

Dear Reader,

The sorry state of discourse on the Internet has many causes, and the experts have offered many solutions for the mess. One of the biggest problems is the way that social media platforms reward engagement. You get shown different content depending on what you click on. For instance, you might click on an innocuous-looking link for a topic such as "vaccine side effects" and from there be shown slightly darker stuff until you descend down into a thought bubble that represents a different reality from what other users are seeing.

I know what you are thinking: Is it possible for the platform (and the user) to get better at spotting these innocuous links that act as a front door to the dark conspiracies that have entrapped so many users? My best response is "good luck with that one," or, to put it another way, what are you going to do about the cats?

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News