Musk isn't the Anti-Christ (probably)

[AndyRM]

I suspect this is equally true of "left wing" views.

Well, yeah, that goes without saying.

Most of my political ideas are utterly insane and impractical (although I have ideas about how I could make them work). They're not all left wing either, just for balance.

Thankfully for everyone, I'm happy to keep them largely to myself, and I very much doubt I'd gain much traction on social media if I were to start posting about them. I could probably get a slot as "Guest Lunatic" on GBeebies pretty easily though.

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

I don't think Social Media causes it, but, it does provide an efficient way to spread a given set of views, much more "efficiently" than any past medium I am aware of. IMHO, Social Media is just as effective at spreading any viewpoint, not just right wing stuff.

I would agree about its efficiency. I do think there is something in the causation argument though. You mentioned 'left' vs 'right' wing views and I think there is an interesting distinction. If you take extreme left 'communist views', bringing down Capitalism, equal wealth distribution and so on, these do not gain much traction.

Say Elon Musk suddenly did a complete reversal and initiated a far left algorithm, do you think they would suddenly dominate social discourse, would we have people rioting outside Amazon calling for greater worker's rights and equal pay ( I am making a genuine argument here, not trying to be facetious BTW)? I don't think this would happen.

The right wing stuff seems to catch fire far more readily. I would argue because it preys on people's fears and anxieties in a way left wing ideology does not which I do think has helped in some way to cause this massive lurch towards populism.

 

[Ianonabike]

Applies to fish both on the left and the right.

 

[Pross]

I reckon that not many people hold bonkers right wing views, but are happy to thoughtlessly promote them.

The Britan First stuff on social media a few years back demonstrated this perfectly. I ditched a lot of 'friends' for reposting their shite.

 

[Pross]

Yup. One lovely person I know went right down the anti-vax rabbit hole during covid (her FB profile went from sane to completely and utterly nuts), and there are another couple of friends who now regularly repost stuff from the worst of the xenophobe accounts. Deeply sad.

I think even more worrying is that politicians are being sucked into the X-agenda: not only just because their policies are being influenced by the tweets they will generate, but more insidiously by the mirage that X is inhabited by normal political people, rather than the nutjobs that paid for blue ticks.

The alternative is they always had the beliefs but kept them hidden but seeing similar views openly expressed on social media has emboldend them and believe they are mainstream (which maybe they are). As an example there's a definite difference between what some people who were previously on CS are happy to post on here, potentially as they see our resident troll psoting such stuff with apparent impunity. I'll let people decide whether they think this is better for open debate rather than having an echo chamber.

 

[Pross]

I don't think Social Media causes it, but, it does provide an efficient way to spread a given set of views, much more "efficiently" than any past medium I am aware of. IMHO, Social Media is just as effective at spreading any viewpoint, not just right wing stuff.

From my own experience I'm struggling to think of anyone I know that shares / posts far left material. The closest I got was a friend who was a UNISON rep but I would say that was just left of centre socialist stuff. What would count as bonkers from a left wing perspective? Taking everything into Government ownership / seizing and redistributing assets? If so I can't recall ever having seen anyone I know or follow do that (but I've never engaged in X or Bluesky).

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

The alternative is they always had the beliefs but kept them hidden but seeing similar views openly expressed on social media has emboldend them and believe they are mainstream (which maybe they are). As an example there's a definite difference between what some people who were previously on CS are happy to post on here, potentially as they see our resident troll psoting such stuff with apparent impunity. I'll let people decide whether they think this is better for open debate rather than having an echo chamber.

This is at the core of my original question. How much is this social media affirming and encouraging already held views/beliefs and how much is it social media eliciting these views from people who have never really held them before?

 

[BoldonLad]

I would agree about its efficiency. I do think there is something in the causation argument though. You mentioned 'left' vs 'right' wing views and I think there is an interesting distinction. If you take extreme left 'communist views', bringing down Capitalism, equal wealth distribution and so on, these do not gain much traction.

Say Elon Musk suddenly did a complete reversal and initiated a far left algorithm, do you think they would suddenly dominate social discourse, would we have people rioting outside Amazon calling for greater worker's rights and equal pay ( I am making a genuine argument here, not trying to be facetious BTW)? I don't think this would happen.

The right wing stuff seems to catch fire far more readily. I would argue because it preys on people's fears and anxieties in a way left wing ideology does not which I do think has helped in some way to cause this massive lurch towards populism.

Interesting view. We have had, in the recent past, anti-globalisation protests, damage to financial premises etc. In my younger life, there was groups like Bader Meinhoff (I think I have that right, it was a long time ago), but, that was before Social Media.

I have in the past been criticised for using the term "human nature" (not on here), so, at the risk of being side tracked as to what comprises "Human Nature", could it be that selfish rightwing views tend to chime with "Human Nature" more readily? I do recognise that this not a "nice" thing to say about my species, but, that does not preclude it possibly being true (IMHO).

Not wishing to ignite a young vs old argument, but, it does appear to me that my generation (1960s teenager) were much more likely to protest the status quo than today's teens. That is not to say that my children and grandchildren are without rebellion, but, rather that my generation appeared to be more rebellious. Perhaps it is nostalgia and rose-tinted spectacles? 😊

The latter difference wrt to Capitalism vs Communism may be down to the demise of the USSR, in my youth, the USSR (we were told) was to be feared, although, subsequent life experience led me to believe we were lied to (now, there is an interesting thought, Government telling fibs). Plus of course, my youth was virtually before computers, never mind internet and social media.

 

[BoldonLad]

From my own experience I'm struggling to think of anyone I know that shares / posts far left material. The closest I got was a friend who was a UNISON rep but I would say that was just left of centre socialist stuff. What would count as bonkers from a left wing perspective? Taking everything into Government ownership / seizing and redistributing assets? If so I can't recall ever having seen anyone I know or follow do that (but I've never engaged in X or Bluesky).

I normally prefix such statements with the rider "not statistically significant", but, my experience is the opposite.

In my circle of friends"friends, relatives, associates" I have been surprised by extreme views on both sides of the left/right divide. When I say "surprised", I dont mean that the actual views surprised me, I already knew that such views existed, but, I have been surprised (on some occasions) by the people who expressed them.

 

[AuroraSaab]

Interesting view. We have had, in the recent past, anti-globalisation protests, damage to financial premises etc. In my younger life, there was groups like Bader Meinhoff (I think I have that right, it was a long time ago), but, that was before Social Media.

There's an excellent book on this group, called the Bader Meinhoff Complex. Was also a film. They didn't even know what they wanted. They aimed to bring down capitalism, kill rich people, and forment revolution, but to no particular end. No real idea of what they were doing or why. It's a mindset many activists seem to have.