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Biweekly Discussion - Is Social Media Destroying Our Social Fabric?

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Brian B.
Biweekly Discussion - Is Social Media Destroying Our Social Fabric?

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We're currently hosting our discussions at Café Walnut, near the corner of 7th & Walnut in Olde City, just across the street from Washington Square Park. The cafe's entrance is below street level down some stairs, which can be confusing if it's your first time. Our group meets in the large room upstairs.

Since we're using the cafe's space, they ask that each person attending the meetup at least purchase a drink or snack. Please don't bring any food or drinks from outside. If you're hungry enough to eat a meal, they have more substantial fare such as salads, soups & sandwiches which are pretty good and their prices are reasonable.

The cafe is fairly easy to get to if you're using public transit. With SEPTA, take the Market-Frankford Line & get off at the 5th Street Station (corner of 5th & Market), and walk 2 blocks south on 5th and then turn right on Walnut Street and walk 2 blocks west. With PATCO, just get off at the 9th-10th & Locust stop and walk 3 blocks east & 1 block north. For those who are driving, parking in the neighborhood can be tough to find. If you can't find a spot on the street, I'd suggest parking in the Washington Square parking deck at 249 S 6th Street which is just a half block away.

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IS SOCIAL MEDIA DESTROYING OUR SOCIAL FABRIC?

INTRODUCTION - SEPARATING TECH CRITICISM FROM TECHNO-PANICS:

In our last discussion, we talked about the ways in which social contagion can spread "moral panics" - i.e. a type of social hysteria where an exaggerated fear spreads through society over a threat that's non-existent, relatively innocuous, or harmful but uncommon. We looked at how moral panics tend to revolve around "folk devils" - i.e. people who are perceived as outsiders & deviants and who are often blamed for crimes or other social problems.

However, moral panics can also center around new forms of technology, and this is sometimes referred to as "techno-panics", a term coined by tech writer Adam Thierer. He argues that 6 factors tend to drive techno-panics: (1) generational differences, (2) hyper-nostalgia, (3) media incentives (i.e. bad news sells), (4) the role of special interests, (5) elitist attitudes, and (6) the "third-person effect" - i.e. the tendency to overestimate the effects of mass media on others. For an explanation of these factors, check out his article:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamthierer/2012/03/04/the-six-things-that-drive-technopanics/#2544a37170b0

In this discussion, we'll look at a variety of fear about the effects that social media is having on society and try to assess whether these are exaggerated "techno-panics" or well-founded concerns that need to be addressed. Specifically, we'll look at 4 fears about social media:
(1) it's subjecting users to endless social comparisons which increases narcissism & social anxiety,
(2) it's creating echo chambers for users which increases their close-mindedness & worsens political polarization,
(3) it's distracting users from face-to-face socialization in a way that degrades the quality of their relationships,
(4) it's subjecting users to endless debates, trolling & online harassment, leading to anger & depression.

To get a sense of what experts think about these concerns, it may help to look at some polls. Last year, Pew Research conducted a poll of over 1,000 technology experts, scholars and health specialists and found that "a plurality of experts say digital life will continue to expand people’s boundaries and opportunities in the coming decade and that the world to come will produce more help than harm in people’s lives. Still, nearly a third think that digital life will be mostly harmful to people’s health, mental fitness and happiness." Pew Research lumped the experts' concerns into 5 categories: (1) digital deficits, (2) digital addiction, (3) digital distrust/divisiveness, (4) digital duress, and (5) digital dangers. "Digital deficits" and "digital addictions" were covered in a meetup we had last April, and the Political Agnostics had a corresponding meetup that addressed the "digital dangers" to democracy, so that's why this meetup focuses on what they're calling "digital distrust/divisiveness" & "digital duress".

The experts surveyed by Pew Research suggested a mix of government regulation, tech innovation, and educating the public in media literacy. However, a share of respondents said all this may help somewhat, but – mostly due to human nature – it is unlikely that these responses will be effective enough, and people must gradually evolve and adjust to these changes.
http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/04/17/the-future-of-well-being-in-a-tech-saturated-world/

Facebook turned 15 last month, and Vox interviewed 15 "influencers" to find out their opinions on the question "Has Facebook been good for the world?" Several of the people appear to have no expertise with which to give an informed opinion and several others who could be considered experts gave perfunctory responses, but it's worth looking at what Sherry Tuckle, Steven Pinker, Jonathan Haidt, Meredith Broussard, and Antonio Garcia-Martinez had to say. Tuckle & Broussard both think Facebook poses a threat to our privacy & our democracy because it allows us to be surveilled & manipulated. Haidt's concerns are more aligned with what we'll discuss in this meetup, as he thinks Facebook poses a threat to both our mental health & social stability. Pinker & Garcia-Martinez see social media in a broader historical context as a disruptive technology, comparable to the printing press in the way that it broke up the preexisting monopoly on information dissemination. They think this disruption brings both benefits & problems, but they note that the established media outlets & pundits display a status quo bias by focusing so heavily on the problems.
https://www.vox.com/technology/2019/2/4/18205138/facebook-15-anniversary-social-network-founded-date-2004

  • Note: I came across a lot of concerns about the intersection of the internet & sexual norms, such as the ubiquity of online porn, dating sites & hookup apps, sexting & revenge porn, and "cyber-predators" & stalkers using the internet to find their victims. I'll relegate those concerns to a separate meetup, since they have elements of both a "techno-panic" and another type of moral panic - i.e. a "sex panic" - which complicates things.

RELEVANT MATERIAL FROM PREVIOUS MEETUPS:

Back in April of 2018, we had a meetup entitled, "What Is The Internet Doing To Our Brains?" where we discussed some allegations that the internet may be having a variety of negative psychological & neurological effects on heavy users including internet addiction, digital amnesia, information overload & the "mind change" hypothesis:
https://www.meetup.com/Philly-Skeptics/events/248928846/

Also back in April of 2018, the Philadelphia Political Agnostics had a meetup that addressed various concerns surrounding internet freedom, internet privacy & net neutrality:
https://www.meetup.com/Philadelphia-Political-Agnostics/events/xvbrznyxgbcb/

On Feb. 3, 2018, the Philadelphia Political Agnostics had a meetup on "The Dark Arts of Political Persuasion" and Section 3 of the outline addressed concerns about the way Russia & Cambridge Analytica used social media to influence the 2016 presidential election: https://www.meetup.com/Philadelphia-Political-Agnostics/events/258025617/

On Feb. 17th, 2019, the Philadelphia Political Agnostics hosted a discussion on how online "outrage cycles" & internet shaming affects our political culture:
https://www.meetup.com/Philadelphia-Political-Agnostics/events/wpjnnqyzdbgc/

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DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR OUR DISCUSSION:

The videos & articles you see linked below are intended to give you a basic overview of some of the major debates over the social effects of social media. As usual, I certainly don't expect you to read all the articles & watch all the videos prior to attending our discussion. The easiest way to prepare for our discussion is to just watch the numbered videos linked under each section - the videos come to about about 49 minutes total. The articles marked with asterisks are just there to supply additional details. You can browse and look at whichever ones you want, but don't worry - we'll cover the stuff you missed in our discussion.

In terms of the discussion format, my general idea is that we'll address the topics in the order presented here. I figure we'll spend about 30 minutes on each section.

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I. "SELFIE CULTURE" & SOCIAL MEDIA'S EFFECTS ON NARCISSISM & STATUS ANXIETY:

  • HOW DOES THE "FRIENDSHIP PARADOX" WORK ONLINE - I.E. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT MOST FACEBOOK USERS' FRIENDS HAVE MORE FRIENDS THAN THEY DO? ARE OUR FRIENDS MORE LIKELY TO BE WEALTHIER & HAPPIER AS WELL?

  • ARE MOST PEOPLE'S FACEBOOK POSTS A CURATED SELECTION THAT MAKES THEIR LIFE APPEAR MORE FUN & EXCITING THAN IT ACTUALLY IS? DOES FACEBOOK'S NEWSFEED ALGORITHM CONTAIN BIASES THAT MAKE THESE "FUN" & "EXCITING" POSTS MORE VISIBLE THAN SAD OR BANAL POSTS?

  • HOW MUCH DO MOST PEOPLE BASE THEIR HAPPINESS ON THEIR RELATIVE STATUS AS OPPOSED TO ABSOLUTE CRITERIA? DOES SOCIAL MEDIA EXACERBATE UNHAPPINESS BY MAKING OUR FRIENDS' LIVES APPEAR BETTER THAN OURS? OR DOES IT PARTIALLY COUNTERACT THE UNREALISTIC COMPARISONS GENERATED BY THE CELEBRITY CULTURE OF TV & TABLOIDS?

  • ARE MILLENNIALS MORE CONCERNED WITH ECONOMIC COMPARISONS BASED ON CAREERS & STANDARDS OF LIVING (A.K.A. "KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES") OR OTHER TYPES OF SOCIAL COMPARISONS (E.G. FITNESS/BEAUTY, RELATIONSHIPS, LEISURE ACTIVITIES)? HOW DOES SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCE THIS?

  • IS THE "FEAR OF MISSING OUT" (FOMO) A REAL PSYCHOLOGICAL PHENOMENON SUPPORTED BY OLDER CONCEPTS LIKE "RELATIVE DEPRIVATION"? IF SO, DOES SOCIAL MEDIA EXACERBATE IT BY SHOWING US FUN THINGS OUR FRIENDS DID WITHOUT US?

  • DOES SOCIAL MEDIA USE LEAD TO A NET INCREASE IN STATUS ANXIETY IN USERS? IS THIS WHY SOME STUDIES HAVE FOUND PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS FROM CURTAILING SOCIAL MEDIA USE?

  • ARE MILLENNIALS REALLY MORE NARCISSISTIC OR "STATUS ANXIOUS"? IF SO, ARE THE CURATED LIFESTYLES OF "SELFIE CULTURE" AND STATUS COMPETITION ON SOCIAL MEDIA PARTLY TO BLAME?

1a) QHat, "The Friendship Paradox" (video - 1:35 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=httLvVufAYs

1b) Seeker, "Social Media Gives Us [FOMO] Anxiety" (video - 3:14 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj3ujfOGqjs

1c) ThinkTank, "Is The Myth About Millennial Narcissists Really True?" (video - 5:26 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QT32EG-dFU

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II. THE "BIG SORT" ONLINE & SOCIAL MEDIA'S "FILTER BUBBLE" & "ECHO CHAMBER" EFFECTS:

  • WHILE BILL BISHOP'S "BIG SORT" HYPOTHESIS ABOUT POLITICAL POLARIZATION IN AMERICA BEING CAUSED BY GEOGRAPHIC SELF-SORTING HAS BEEN CALLED INTO QUESTION, DOES IT APPLY MORE TO OUR FRIEND NETWORKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA?

  • DOES SOCIAL MEDIA LEAD USERS TO SEE MOSTLY NEWS THAT CONFIRMS THEIR PREEXISTING OPINIONS? IF SO, IS THAT MOSTLY A RESULT OF THEIR FRIEND NETWORKS, NEWSFEED ALGORITHMS, OR WHAT THEY CHOOSE TO CLICK ON?

  • ARE HEAVY SOCIAL MEDIA USERS MORE IGNORANT OR BIASED THAN PEOPLE WHO RARELY OR NEVER USE SOCIAL MEDIA?

  • DOES YOUTUBE'S ALGORITHMS THAT SUGGEST RELATED VIDEOS LEAD USERS TOWARDS MORE POLITICALLY EXTREME CONTENT OR MERELY TOWARDS THINGS THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO CLICK ON & WATCH?

  • DOES THE FACT THAT SEARCH ENGINES LIKE GOOGLE SHOW DIFFERENT RESULTS TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE WHO'VE MADE THE SAME SEARCH BASED ON THEIR PREVIOUS SEARCHES MEAN THAT IT'S PROMOTING CONFIRMATION BIAS? DOES THIS PLAY A ROLE IN POLITICAL POLARIZATION AS WELL?

2a) Eli Pariser, "How news feed algorithms supercharge confirmation bias" (video - 4:58 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prx9bxzns3g

2b) Politiekman, "Filter Bubbles Aren't That Much of an Issue" (video - 10:35 min, listen to 10:15)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5KLLXm5Bm8

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III. SMART PHONES & SOCIAL MEDIA'S EFFECTS ON RELATIONSHIPS:

  • IS THE ABILITY TO MAKE PLANS ON THE FLY WITH OUR SMART PHONES MAKING US FLAKIER, I.E. LESS PRONE TO COMMITTING TO MEETING UP WITH PEOPLE AND/OR MORE PRONE TO CANCELLING AT THE LAST MINUTE OR "NO-SHOWING"?

  • IS TEXTING & EMAIL REPLACING PHONE CALLS? IF SO, DOES THIS LEAD TO CONVERSATIONS THAT SEEM MORE EMOTIONALLY DISTANT?

  • DOES WIDESPREAD USE OF SMART PHONES IN PUBLIC LEAD TO "COCOONING" & DISCOURAGE INTERACTION WITH STRANGERS THAT COULD'VE LED TO MEETING NEW PEOPLE & FORGING NEW FRIENDSHIPS?

  • IS "PHUBBING" - I.E. PHONE SNUBBING - A REAL PROBLEM? IS THE CONSTANT DISTRACTION OFFERED BY SMART PHONES MAKING US LESS INVESTED IN & MORE DISTRACTED FROM FACE-TO-FACE RELATIONSHIPS WITH FRIENDS & FAMILY? DOES THIS HARM OUR RELATIONSHIPS & LEAD TO MORE ARGUMENTS, UNHAPPINESS & BREAKUPS/DIVORCES?

  • IS SOCIAL MEDIA BENEFICIAL FOR SHY PEOPLE & INTROVERTS OR DOES IT EXACERBATE THEIR INSTINCTS TO AVOID SOCIALIZING?

  • DOES THE CORRELATION BETWEEN HEAVY SOCIAL MEDIA USE & LONELINESS MEAN THAT SOCIAL MEDIA CAUSES HEAVY USERS TO BECOME MORE LONELY, OR IS IT LONELINESS THAT CAUSES HEAVY SOCIAL MEDIA USE?

  • DOES SOCIAL MEDIA ALLOW US TO MEET MORE PEOPLE & FIND OUT ABOUT MORE EVENTS THAN WE COULD PRIOR TO THE INTERNET? IF SO, DOES THIS MEAN THAT IT'S ACTUALLY MORE PRONE TO CONNECT PEOPLE THAN ISOLATE THEM?

  • COULD IT BE THAT THE INTERNET GENERATION IS JUST ADOPTING NEW NORMS FOR FRIENDSHIPS & SOCIALIZING THAT DON'T REQUIRE AS MUCH FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTION, AND THAT THE QUALITY OF ONLINE RELATIONSHIPS CAN BE JUST AS HIGH?

3a) TIME, "‘Phubbing’ Is Hurting Your Relationships: Here’s What It Is" (video - 1:55 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGNppJWj8IM

3b) Alex Cornell, "Cellphones Make People Flaky as #%@*" (video - 1:35 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNsI9fihzm8

3c) Seeker, "Are Overly Active Facebook Users Depressed?" (video - 4:26 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn8fewQlnTU

3d) UPMC, "Social Media and Social Isolation" (video - 0:45 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0cgYtRW1-o

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IV. SOCIAL MEDIA, OUTRAGE CULTURE, CYBER-BULLYING & HARASSMENT:

  • DOES EXPOSURE TO OUTRAGING CONTENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA LEAD TO USERS DEVELOPING ANGER PROBLEMS?

  • WHAT SEPARATES ONLINE DEBATES FROM ONLINE HARASSMENT? DOES "GASLIGHTING", "MANSPLAINING" & "SEA-LIONING" COUNT AS HARASSMENT?

  • IS MORAL SHAMING ONLINE A SOCIAL PROBLEM OR A USEFUL TOOL TO SHIFT SOCIAL NORMS?

  • HAS CYBER-BULLYING BECOME A BIGGER PROBLEM THAN BULLYING IN SCHOOLS? WHAT ARE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF CYBER-BULLYING? HAS IT LED TO AN INCREASE IN TEEN SUICIDES?

  • ARE ONLINE CHALLENGES THAT ENCOURAGE SELF-HARM & SUICIDE, LIKE THE "BLUE WHALE GAME" & "MOMO CHALLENGE" REAL THREATS TO KIDS OR A HOAX? IF THEY HAVE ANY BASIS IN REALITY, ARE THESE SCARY INTERNET CHALLENGES PERHAPS RELATED TO ADOLESCENT "FEAR TESTS" OF THE PRE-INTERNET ERA LIKE THE "BLOODY MARY" GAME OR OUIJA BOARDS?

  • ARE WOMEN MORE LIKELY TO BE TARGETED FOR ONLINE HARASSMENT? DOES THE PUBLIC TAKE HARASSMENT OF WOMEN & GIRLS MORE OR LESS SERIOUSLY THAN HARASSMENT OF MEN & BOYS?

  • UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES CAN ONLINE HARASSMENT LEAD TO PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS FOR THOSE TARGETED?

  • HOW BIG OF A PROBLEM ARE ONLINE TACTICS LIKE DOXXING & SWATTING THAT PROMOTE REAL-WORLD VIOLENCE?

4a) Molly Crockett, "How Social Media Makes Us Angry All the Time" (video - 7:23 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE_QoebLUFQ

4b) WPRI w/ Karyn Horowitz, "Local expert: No link between increase in teen suicide rates and social media" (video - 1:50 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpsbsuP-R_M

4c) Christina Hoff Sommers, "Fact-checking the UN: Is the Internet dangerous for women?" (video - 6:13 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo01-NHoeBk

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Cafe Walnut
703 Walnut Street · Philadelphia, PA
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