Why Twitter Isn't the Root of America's Anger

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Even if you're not on social media, you still live in a country that will vote based on how other people are influenced by what's on social media. How do the television producers at MSNBC or Fox News figure out what to put on the air? They look to Twitter's trending topics algorithm and they cover the most inflammatory fault lines in the culture wars. So in a way, we are all users of Twitter, even though only 300 million or so people actually have full accounts on Twitter. But the real problem with Twitter isn't the content on Twitter. It's that Twitter is kind of a gladiator stadium, like a Roman Colosseum,.

The weekly American news show 60 Minutes invited Center for Humane Technology co-founder Tristan Harris back recently to discuss political polarization and the anger and incivility that gets elevated on social media as a matter of corporate profit. We're releasing a special episode of Your Undivided Attention this week to dig further into some of the important nuances of the complexity of this problem.

CHT’s work was actually introduced to the world by Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes back in 2017, and we’re honored to have been invited back. In this new interview, we cover the business model of competing for engagement at all costs - the real root of the problem that we’re thrilled to be able to discuss on a far-reaching platform.

We also busted the myth that if you’re not on social media, you don’t need to be concerned. Even if you're not on social media, you likely live in a country that will vote based on other people’s collective choices and behaviors. We know that the media we engage with shapes the people who consume it.

CORRECTION:

Tristan notes that Facebook's Head of Global Policy, Monika Bickert, says in the interview that social media can't be the root of America's anger because it's people over the age of 60 who are most polarized. She actually said that people over the age of 65 are most polarized.

RECOMMENDED MEDIA

60 Minutes: “Social Media and Political Polarization in America”

https://humanetech.com/60minutes

Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/297276/amusing-ourselves-to-death-by-neil-postman/

Neil Postman’s groundbreaking book about the damaging effects of television on our politics and public discourse has been hailed as a twenty-first-century book published in the twentieth century.

60 Minutes: “Brain Hacking”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awAMTQZmvPE

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