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Facebook mind control!

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David Libra

I dare you to try


Joined: 27 Jul 2003
Location: Andromeda

PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 2:50 pm
Post subject: Facebook mind control!Reply with quote

One of the more bizarre stories I've read of late:

http://washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/03/sheryl-sandberg-not-sorry-for-facebook-mood-manipulation-study/

Quote:
Sandberg’s statement was the first public comment by a Facebook executive on the controversy since it erupted over the weekend, prompting anger from many Facebook users and criticism from some academics who said it was unethical to manipulate users’ emotions without informed consent.

In the study, researchers at Facebook tweaked what hundreds of thousands of users saw in their news feeds, skewing content to be more positive or negative than normal in an attempt to manipulate their moods. Then they checked users’ status updates to see if the content affected what they wrote. They found that, yes, Facebook users’ moods are affected by what they see in their news feeds. Users who saw more negative posts would write more negative things on their own walls, and likewise for positive posts.


The issue here is whether conducting such an experiment is ethical. One one level, it seems a bit precious to complain—is having an emotionally balanced Facebook newsfeed a, like, actual civil right?!—but the really bizarre thing here is that it apparently worked.

Okay, so let's assume that Facebook can manipulate your mood by filtering your newsfeed in a certain way. They can, on some level, make you happier or sadder. This means that, through their actions, they can cheer up someone who's having a bad day or tip a depressed person over the edge.

It still seems a bit ridiculous, but think of it this way: what happens if you're given mood-altering drugs? The chemicals in your brain re-arrange in a certain way to alter your state of mind. Now, we know enough about neuroscience nowadays to know that something similar is happening whenever we react to any stimulus, like reading a book, or meeting a friend for coffee, or even seeing a Facebook post. If that's so, then, it's almost as if Facebook has force-fed tens of thousands of unaware users mood-altering drugs. Clearly, if you look at it that way, the ethical problems become a little more obvious.

But let's be reasonable about this: if Facebook is engaging in a form of unsolicited mind control, then so is every other form of media, whether it be TV, billboards or websites. At what point do we say some types of manipulation are just too ethically questionable? And is it really the responsibility of companies to make sure they're not making us too unhappy?

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What'sinaname Libra



Joined: 29 May 2010
Location: Living rent free

PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 4:09 pm
Post subject: Reply with quote

Might be a dumb question, but what's a facebook?
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Tannin Capricorn

Can't remember


Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Location: Huon Valley Tasmania

PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 4:31 pm
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"Facebook mind control".

Eh?

Whoever heard of anybody on Facebook having a mind?

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Nick - Pie Man 



Joined: 04 Aug 2010


PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 4:36 pm
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I've always believed that it's the responsibility of the individual to control the media that they are exposed to - be it radio, TV, facebook, or whatever. Because these things can affect my mood, it's up to me to make sure I don't expose myself to things that aren't constructive.

In other words, it's exactly what I don't do when deciding what I'm going to eat for lunch.


Now, not everybody is aware of the subtle influence that things like the TV and facebook can have on their mental state. If you want proof, look at the douchebag that they voted for in 2013.
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Wokko Pisces

Come and take it.


Joined: 04 Oct 2005


PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 4:39 pm
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Interestingly the people who have been saying that the elites are trying to control the minds and thoughts of the masses have always been dismissed as crazy, conspiracy wingnuts. Now there's proof of it and people just shrug and go about their business. We have been collectively dumbed down and made totally apathetic to anything other than trivial shit.

I think this just shows that propaganda still works just fine in a modern, connected setting and if or when those who rule over us decide they need to use it to manipulate public opinion or feeling then it's going to work just fine. Do you think the Zuckerbergs will turn down a few billion to keep the mood of the facebook population raised during some internal crisis? It's a scary development that will be dismissed out of hand.
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David Libra

I dare you to try


Joined: 27 Jul 2003
Location: Andromeda

PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 4:44 pm
Post subject: Reply with quote

Nick - Pie Man wrote:
I've always believed that it's the responsibility of the individual to control the media that they are exposed to - be it radio, TV, facebook, or whatever. Because these things can affect my mood, it's up to me to make sure I don't expose myself to things that aren't constructive.

In other words, it's exactly what I don't do when deciding what I'm going to eat for lunch.


Now, not everybody is aware of the subtle influence that things like the TV and facebook can have on their mental state. If you want proof, look at the douchebag that they voted for in 2013.


I just wonder how much control we really have over these things. Do we choose what the billboards on the freeway show? Do we decide how the articles in our favourite newspaper are presented and what impact that has on us?

We can and do choose certain media outlets and networks over others, often based on the way they make us feel. But that's about where our power ends. We can only ever be reactive.

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John Wren Virgo

"Look after the game. It means so much to so many."


Joined: 15 Jul 2007


PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 4:41 pm
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i often think that society has dumbed down. newspapers are written for the cognitive ability or comprehension of a 12 year old. i also wonder whether the proliferation and oversaturation of rubbish in the media has made me more apathetic towards things and by virtue of that i miss out on what is really going on because i couldn't be £$%$ed reading about it.
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1061 



Joined: 06 Sep 2013


PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 4:50 pm
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Yeah the internet is anti social!

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think positive Libra

Side By Side


Joined: 30 Jun 2005
Location: somewhere

PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 6:51 pm
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1061 wrote:
Yeah the internet is anti social!



Haha now that's funny

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stui magpie Gemini

Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.


Joined: 03 May 2005
Location: In flagrante delicto

PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 7:51 pm
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1061 wrote:
Yeah the internet is anti social!



Hop a train to the city now at peak hour.

Almost no one has a news paper, everyone is focused on a phone/tablet/laptop instead.

Absolutely same principle, no one is communicating with other travellers.

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think positive Libra

Side By Side


Joined: 30 Jun 2005
Location: somewhere

PostPosted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 10:24 pm
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And she scores!
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