I think the biggest tragedy we face, not just as Kenyans but as
humans, is the behavior of teaming with only those we agree with.
This takes two levels.
Consciously: Some shares a news item on your timeline
about a topic you find disgusting. You unfriend or unfollow them.
Unconsciously: Social network algorithms study your
behavior and show you those things they think you 'like'.
The end result is you have a busy social media life but you are
only interacting with those who look like you.
We end up with very weak social genes thanks to 'digital
in-breeding'.
Individuals can work on the first one - a very steep
socialization process though.
The issue is the second level; can social networks rewrite their
algorithms to bring diversity to their subscribers at the cost of
weakened business models that depend on engagement and
personalization of online experiences.
This is not a simple problem and even if Facebook fixes the 'Fake
News' problem, this 'digital in-breeding' will still lurk with us,
not forgetting that other social media platforms have a
responsibility too.
-Moses
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Today's Topics: 1. Re: Facebook's real risk (Ali Hussein)
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