This is why I always have the sound off on my phone. I normally dislike subtitles, but it’s perfect for social media as it allows me to maintain the detachment you describe.
If videos automatically paused for you to think (like Dora, except you have to click resume), would you consider that to reintroduce the thinking/feeling loop?
An example of this could be story driven video games - there are pauses, and the world isn't constantly moving.
(fwiw, this doesn't feel like it fits the same bill as reading, bc automatically pausing means you're not in control - you're relegating when to think, to when the creator decided to auto pause)
This is an interesting train of thought. As you mentioned, it definitely can lead to a lack of critical thinking, as it does the thinking for the user and/or validates the user's point of view. On the other hand, I think that it is largely dependent on how one interacts with and "programs" it. I have programmed it to be questioning of everything that I say, everything that it researches, and everything that it replies with. To be critically logical, yet also open-minded, as knowledge and "facts" will inevitably evolve with time as we learn more and as society changes. I also ask it nuanced questions, so that it knows exactly what I am trying to obtain from the conversation. I generally take things it says with a grain of salt, but I do forget to question things at times. I also do not know how many people are this intentional with their use of it either. And that's not to mention the fact that it makes silly errors at times as well.. and collects information about us, though that point also applies to social media as well.
Constantly passively consuming social media led to me realize that it leaves zero mental space for me to engage with other forms of media; books, podcasts or even film. After removing apps which led to doomscrolling, I have felt a much greater sense of space in my brain to consume other things and it is so great.
It is hard though, as I have become so accustomed to staying connected to people in my distant community, and seeing media headlines in this space. I'm currently trying to explore how I will go about that without being as "plugged in" per se?
I like the piece a lot, but I think it’s missing some finer-grained texture about how we actually move between “immersion” and “detachment.” Searle’s old distinction between subjectivity and objectivity still does good work here, especially if you look closer at what’s happening inside each side.
It’s not just a two-state toggle between feeling and thinking. The mind actually has four doors it can move through. First there’s undirected feeling - pure contact with the world, like seeing colour or hearing sound before naming it. Then directed feeling - emotion, comparison, wanting, resisting. Then undirected thinking - the mind’s playful curiosity, wondering without an agenda. Finally directed thinking - reasoning, judging, naming.
Knowing WHICH sort of feeling or thinking you’re doing seems really key.
I've been working out some ideas about what is depressing (to me) about instagram/tiktok/social media poetry, and it is because of this, that we are losing sensual contact with reality. Our senses are the matrix that we access the outside world through, and how we communicate with others, and form the basis for empathy and modeling other people's thoughts/theory of mind. And when we neglect some senses and favor others, like what happens when we are watching/listening/touching/staring into screens for hours at a time, I think it throws us off balance. I have a hypnosis kink, and remember reading somewhere that movies are a form of cultural hypnosis, and scrolling on social media, especially in the dark and quiet of night, is the same as a deep hypnotic trance, even more deep and insidious than movies or being hypnotized by a human, because of things like eye tracking and algorithms, you become lost in it and forget that you are an autonomous self and that there is an outside world. Rimbaud advocated for a systemized derangement of the senses; the problem I am finding is the estrangement from the senses. Also, there is some evidence that psychopaths have problems with distinguishing smells, and I'd be interested to see if there is a psycholinguistic correlation between people who lack empathy with other sensory processing issues, like to study speeches or writings or utterances from some of our more famous narcissists/naranjacissts to see if their language used less sensory-oriented language than similar people without dark triad personality traits.
Yes, but social media is not just a canvas, like a painting. Platforms have business goals - and the job of an algorithm is to provide an environment for those business goals to exist.
This seems specifically about short video social media, vs pictures or text (FB/X). I agree, there. Looping videos keep me stuck in "look at thing" instead of being able to switch to "think about thing", and that's so disconcerting that I basically can't (comfortably) watch looping short videos. If they stopped instead of looping, then, sure.
One piece I'd want to dive into more is "This is how misinformation spreads online. If an idea makes you feel something, and you stop to question its facticity, you can pretty easily find out whether the idea is made up. But when you live in the state of feeling authenticity over discerning facticity, it is easier to believe lies, and even help spread them."
I wonder how much of this is the structure of the internet itself, but also that right now is the opposite of "all politics are local"? People are no longer allowed to just focus on their personal sphere or their backyard, but instead must focus on a a littany of complex global issues, that they find overwhelming and way too complex. People are navigating this complexity purely on gut feeling, and kind of overconfidently yolo'ing it - trusting all their feelings and spreading that which concerns them most.
If this is true, logging off and touching grass won't be enough - these actions would be necessary, but not sufficient. People need to either get more comfortable with complexity, be a little less overconfident in their own gut feelings, or we need to return society to "all politics is local" it being OK, and sustainable - to just focus on the local.
well said. people around me are CONSTANTLY on their phones, and combined with a general lack of art appreciation or education, it’s hard to tap into that side of people.
This is why I always have the sound off on my phone. I normally dislike subtitles, but it’s perfect for social media as it allows me to maintain the detachment you describe.
I've never thought about that! It genuinely sounds like a good practice, especially since social media cannot be altogether avoided.
If videos automatically paused for you to think (like Dora, except you have to click resume), would you consider that to reintroduce the thinking/feeling loop?
An example of this could be story driven video games - there are pauses, and the world isn't constantly moving.
(fwiw, this doesn't feel like it fits the same bill as reading, bc automatically pausing means you're not in control - you're relegating when to think, to when the creator decided to auto pause)
How does using an LLM fit into this framework?
Obviously when it’s sycophantic, you’re not thinking much or feeling anything besides validated.
Otherwise, you’re flipping through thinking-feeling much faster. There’s both good and bad to come of that.
yeah I'm trying to unpack this. definitely seems more detached than social media, but we still implicitly trust it a lot more than we think
This is an interesting train of thought. As you mentioned, it definitely can lead to a lack of critical thinking, as it does the thinking for the user and/or validates the user's point of view. On the other hand, I think that it is largely dependent on how one interacts with and "programs" it. I have programmed it to be questioning of everything that I say, everything that it researches, and everything that it replies with. To be critically logical, yet also open-minded, as knowledge and "facts" will inevitably evolve with time as we learn more and as society changes. I also ask it nuanced questions, so that it knows exactly what I am trying to obtain from the conversation. I generally take things it says with a grain of salt, but I do forget to question things at times. I also do not know how many people are this intentional with their use of it either. And that's not to mention the fact that it makes silly errors at times as well.. and collects information about us, though that point also applies to social media as well.
Constantly passively consuming social media led to me realize that it leaves zero mental space for me to engage with other forms of media; books, podcasts or even film. After removing apps which led to doomscrolling, I have felt a much greater sense of space in my brain to consume other things and it is so great.
It is hard though, as I have become so accustomed to staying connected to people in my distant community, and seeing media headlines in this space. I'm currently trying to explore how I will go about that without being as "plugged in" per se?
Instagram reels' lack of a pause button feels even more insidious now.
I like the piece a lot, but I think it’s missing some finer-grained texture about how we actually move between “immersion” and “detachment.” Searle’s old distinction between subjectivity and objectivity still does good work here, especially if you look closer at what’s happening inside each side.
It’s not just a two-state toggle between feeling and thinking. The mind actually has four doors it can move through. First there’s undirected feeling - pure contact with the world, like seeing colour or hearing sound before naming it. Then directed feeling - emotion, comparison, wanting, resisting. Then undirected thinking - the mind’s playful curiosity, wondering without an agenda. Finally directed thinking - reasoning, judging, naming.
Knowing WHICH sort of feeling or thinking you’re doing seems really key.
Have you read James Elkins book “Pictures and Tears”? His discussion of the function of art and our feeling relationship with it seems quite relevant here! https://jameselkins.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Elkins-Pictures-and-Tears.pdf
I've been working out some ideas about what is depressing (to me) about instagram/tiktok/social media poetry, and it is because of this, that we are losing sensual contact with reality. Our senses are the matrix that we access the outside world through, and how we communicate with others, and form the basis for empathy and modeling other people's thoughts/theory of mind. And when we neglect some senses and favor others, like what happens when we are watching/listening/touching/staring into screens for hours at a time, I think it throws us off balance. I have a hypnosis kink, and remember reading somewhere that movies are a form of cultural hypnosis, and scrolling on social media, especially in the dark and quiet of night, is the same as a deep hypnotic trance, even more deep and insidious than movies or being hypnotized by a human, because of things like eye tracking and algorithms, you become lost in it and forget that you are an autonomous self and that there is an outside world. Rimbaud advocated for a systemized derangement of the senses; the problem I am finding is the estrangement from the senses. Also, there is some evidence that psychopaths have problems with distinguishing smells, and I'd be interested to see if there is a psycholinguistic correlation between people who lack empathy with other sensory processing issues, like to study speeches or writings or utterances from some of our more famous narcissists/naranjacissts to see if their language used less sensory-oriented language than similar people without dark triad personality traits.
Just started reading your book, Algospeak, and in every chapter so far you have this kind of critical analysis of social media and how it works on us.
Yes, but social media is not just a canvas, like a painting. Platforms have business goals - and the job of an algorithm is to provide an environment for those business goals to exist.
This seems specifically about short video social media, vs pictures or text (FB/X). I agree, there. Looping videos keep me stuck in "look at thing" instead of being able to switch to "think about thing", and that's so disconcerting that I basically can't (comfortably) watch looping short videos. If they stopped instead of looping, then, sure.
Phenomenal piece. So many amazing points here!
One piece I'd want to dive into more is "This is how misinformation spreads online. If an idea makes you feel something, and you stop to question its facticity, you can pretty easily find out whether the idea is made up. But when you live in the state of feeling authenticity over discerning facticity, it is easier to believe lies, and even help spread them."
I wonder how much of this is the structure of the internet itself, but also that right now is the opposite of "all politics are local"? People are no longer allowed to just focus on their personal sphere or their backyard, but instead must focus on a a littany of complex global issues, that they find overwhelming and way too complex. People are navigating this complexity purely on gut feeling, and kind of overconfidently yolo'ing it - trusting all their feelings and spreading that which concerns them most.
If this is true, logging off and touching grass won't be enough - these actions would be necessary, but not sufficient. People need to either get more comfortable with complexity, be a little less overconfident in their own gut feelings, or we need to return society to "all politics is local" it being OK, and sustainable - to just focus on the local.
This is well written. Thanks for sharing👍🏽
Are you really saying you've never said 'I think I've read that', after being asked about a book? I day that all the time. Weird shit man
Good shit. So important. I worry that those who need this message won't read it. I'll do my part to share as I can.
well said. people around me are CONSTANTLY on their phones, and combined with a general lack of art appreciation or education, it’s hard to tap into that side of people.