I gave up selling on marketplace, and donate everything. People messaging you for months asking questions or wanting a refund after they broke it. I'm not your tech support, and no warranty claims. Have heard this is a regional issue and also depends on the category. I will never sell another car on marketplace. Craigslist is great for the anonymity.
Marketplace when I was moving saved me many trips because people will come pick up any old thing, but it was the pits of hell to deal with. Some lady ghosted me picking up some doors, so I moved on to the next person, and she messaged me back three weeks later saying she was interested again, and was mad as blazes I hadn't held onto them.
Craigslist was always on the fringes, before Facebook marketplace came in there were a bunch of separate and disconnected online marketplaces. Facebook marketplace had the advantage of already having a massive user base (larger than any of the existing online marketplaces), causing it to become the largest one right out the gate, which then of course makes it the most attractive option for sellers since they will reach more people.
yeah. the platforms aren't so bad in and of themselves, it's the engagement algorithms that turn everything to shit.
just like IG, YT, video/music stremaing etc. you could stumble upon random and interesting shit... now the algo is just trying to shove kendrick lamar and joe rogan at me none stop because that is what is 'popular' and whatever shitty movie that netflix is trying to promote.
browsing is dead and search is also mostly broken. you can't even effectively search for shit anymore.
the only place i can freely browse anymore is my local library. and discover lots of cool things. that experience on the internet is dead.
I stopped actively using it in about 2015 and every time I happen to go on it (like once every 3 years because, like a lot of people, it's how I communicate with family members I don't see often) it's like uncovering and diving into a cesspool.
Lemmy isn't really an echo chamber. It's like saying going over to a friends place is an echo chamber because you and your friend get along. There's nothing wrong with hanging out with people who share your values and beliefs.
The problem with social media are their algorithms. They aren't designed to connect you with like-minded people, but to keep you engaged. The content that keeps people engaged tends to be terrible content.
The recent "a man or a bear" trend is a perfect example. Algorithms love divisive content like that because it drives engagement, but it also leads to people getting really upset over nothing. Lemmy doesn't have any algorithms driving engagement so it doesn't have that problem.
I don't think lemmy is necessarily an echochamber per se, rather its just a place where misinformation exists and opinions are manipulated.
Lemmy does use algorithms to show you the most engaging content, and there are absolutely bots and bad actors manipulating which content is prioritised.
The genocide Joe / vote abstinence thing was a very clear example.
... That's not an echo chamber though. That's propaganda and vote manipulation mostly by literal state actors and brainwashed rubes.
An echo chamber is when people literally self segregate enough to the point that they no longer consume almost any media that doesn't fit their belief. Its exacerbated by large corporations who profit from ad revenue driven through user engagement.
Lemmy is not an echo chamber no more than the literal radio.
Reddit is not an echo chamber.
You can make these an echo chamber through varying degrees of ease. But places like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter have been proven to drive you into one by exploiting ragebait for clicks.
You can say they're both fruit, sure. But one is like eating cantaloupe and the other like eating bananas laced with speed.
Lemmy’s a lot better than Reddit for not being an echo chamber because the communities are less interest specific, and most of us are here because we’re the type to seek out a better discussion rather than stick with status quo.
But as it gets bigger and the communities become more niché it will become a bigger issue.
Lemmy is definitely an echo chamber, but I agree that it's not necessarily a bad thing as long as we recognize it for what it is.
There are a large number of people out there that have very different opinions than the majority of users on this platform, we need to keep things respectful even in our disagreements with them instead of tearing them down for their opinions.
Block Fox and the other right wing news stations, but also a couple liberal news stations like NBC. When they call you for tech support, tell them it's a weird issue happening with cable lately
Platforms like Facebook have an incredible hold on some people. I remember a few years ago when the "Momo" hoax happened, an older coworker arrived at the office and started warning us about the danger of "Momo" they'd seen on Facebook. I'd already heard about the hoax (and was aware of the original creepyasta origins), and brought up a few news articles explaining it, including an official statement from the police. Everyone seemed satisfied by the truth, except for the Facebook addict. They just gave me a blank stare, and a few hours later I heard them telling another group of colleagues to beware of "Momo" getting to their children.
I have family members and longstanding family friends who have succumbed to this. Interestingly almost all of them were decrying the internet as something that couldn't be trusted before the age of social media.
How do you decide which sources are credible? I can't decide. Literally everything can be faked, and the more there is on the line, the more incentive and resources there are to do so.
What important stuff do you think there is that isn't faked? How do you decide that it's not fake?
Damn near everything you've ever accepted as true is stuff you were told or read and just accepted it based on how it was presented.
I believe that some popular news organizations are sufficiently trustworthy. At the very least, you can find sources that rank higher than others on the scale of trustworthiness.
This is why, in a lot of universities, they're trying to teach you how to learn, not necessarily how you should think.
We need to be able to examine the claims for ourselves and learn what red flags look like.
And a lot of the time we mix up "facts" with "opinions". Even when we are looking at facts, most of the time there are lies mixed with truth or conveniently forgotten truths. If we only get our information from a single source, or from biased sources, then we're going to miss some key information.
That's why it's good to make sure that you look at any story (especially politicized ones) from different angles and sources even if you don't agree with them.
Not only that but it can be enlightening to hear about a story from someone who's much more intimately familiar with the subject themselves.
For example, whenever it comes to news stories about the Supreme Court, I like to look for commentary from lawyers such as Steve Lehto or Legal Eagle. You'll find that they typically provide some very important context into why a particular decision was made that cuts through a lot of the outrage material that reporters push for clicks.
Yowza. My dad did the same until he died (shockingly, of COVID), so I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I know what it's like having a crazy parent and it sucks.
One of the best decisions I made was deleting my Facebook. I really mean that, one of the best decisions in my entire life. Not getting sucked into the absolute bullshit fest that greedy shit fuckers like Mark Zuckerberg set up for humanity is extremely relieving. Don't compare yourself to other people, you be you, just try to be your best self, it's worth it. Don't let the billionaire leeches of society take everything from you, fuck Facebook.
legit offline October is great, and works as a grassroots movement. I’m having an “offline October” is akin to when my friends and I do Dry July. I’m going to start doing this (despite the fact that I haven’t used social media in 2 years)
There's something on the tip of my tongue. Something like ____ Zuck. Something that rhymes, and expresses how I feel about him and his platform. I just can't quite put my finger on it...
Same sentence but replace it with Instagram for me. I can't help but peek into comments for some funny ones but they are all filled with vile stuff. Tiktok is no better but it's definitely better than Instagram. Even worse half of those comments come from my country :(
the vast majority of nutbags with low key mental issues i meet are social media addicts who furiously want to bring their 'curated' image into the real world and force others to worship them.
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded language to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to the information that is being presented.
Propaganda isn’t always fake news, it can also be true stuff presented in a biased way.
Similarly, fake news isn’t always propaganda. Some is just stuff spread by trolls to make fun of people.
Propaganda isn’t always fake news, it can also be true stuff presented in a biased way.
It can also be true stuff presented in an unbiased way. There's a disconnect here between the proper definition of the word, which is perfectly neutral, and its connotations because the what secretary for tsunami safety doesn't call their stuff "propaganda" but "public service announcement". Still the same thing, though, the tsunami safety secretary is trying to persuade the audience to not be stupid and get to high ground as soon as the sea recedes. Very much pushing an agenda, they *gasp* want people to survive and *gasp* use communication to achieve it.
Can it? I searched a bit and all the definitions I’ve found seem to be about swaying public opinion, not simple objective announcements.
It does have a negative connotation even though it can be used for good, but I still don’t think purely objective messages like “a tsunami is coming, get to high ground” should count as propaganda.
Which btw yes certainly has editorialising going on. The answer to "Useless projects are funded with EU money" starts with "National and regional authorities in the EU countries select projects which they think meet their needs best in line with the strategies and priorities agreed with the Commission." Which isn't saying that EU money doesn't found useless projects, but implicitly blames regional authorities for it. I don't even think they want to mislead, here, they simply want to stay diplomatic.
(This video about the canopy walk is brilliant. (enable subtitles)).
Corruption, that's why. Similar to how the Italian mafia would half-build highway bridges with taxpayer money and then mysteriously have some shell company go bankrupt. OLAF is on it because of course they are when stuff makes the press. If they have a case EPPO will take over at which point that Hungarian mayor will have the questionable honour of being up against the gal who cleaned up Romania... before Hungarian courts. If those turn out to be corrupt then that's going to buy the mayor time but ultimately the ECJ would overrule them. Still no mechanism to actually set boots on member state grounds but Hungary is already on thin ice when it comes to getting suspended from the EU for various reasons, they're going to tread lightly.
See if you want to be corrupt in the EU you have to do it like the big boys: Implement some policy, then get a cushy job at a company. Or receive tons of money for boring private speeches. Something like that, directly grabbing into state coffers is so uncivilised.
EDIT: Oh, Hungary didn't join EPPO, figures. They can still freeze assets, though. Also if I understand things correctly our mayor would turn into a fugitive in the rest of the EU.
It's also lazy and they're used to not getting investigated or even called out. But even if prosecution is high and you're not lazy you get corrupt politicians doing blatantly obvious stuff like the mask scandal in Germany, making a fortune of selling FFP2 masks at ludicrous markups to the state: Their behaviour was not technically illegal (laws got adjusted since then), the only one who got prosecuted got prosecuted for tax evasion, not corruption.
YouTube is getting particularly bad about this to, unfortunately. They need to do more to remove harmful misinformation, but they don't care because it won't make them money.
The unfortunate thing is a lot of people won't remove it from their recommendations and will watch it, and the worse thing is there's actually even worse content than those you listed, it's awful.
For real. Not logged in, on a new PC, just having watched a few gaming videos and got recommended US right wing nonsense. I am not in the US, no VPN, nothing. No ability to tell them to stop showing me that garbage. Hell, just let me disable shorts in general.
It really sucks that YT has such shit "don't show me stuff" controls. Sometimes it feels like asking to not get recommended a certain channel will instead show all the alternatives that feel and look just like it
I have blocked so many right wing channels that my de facto suggestions after watching political shit is Zach gun rants, Arma ops, and Animarchy or one of the other NAFO associates. Its fucken great.
Youtube is good as a video hosting website, but bad as anything social-related. I just treat it like a video website and ignore the rest. Private browsing mode, no login used is my preferred way to access youtube videos
Social media in general is full of people that want to rage or exert control over someone else. I had two of my comments here on Lemmy (not sure what server) under the News community for "Victim Blaming" and "Victim Shaming" for saying that people need to take responsibility for their actions occasionally instead of constantly blaming it on the other party.
Or even more better: just get rid or all social media that is associated with massive corporate giants (YouTube is still too useful to get rid of, but it dors still have lots of problems)
The last time I logged on to Facebook was this past fall because there was a death in our fairly tight knit group of high school classmates. It had been three or four years since I'd been in there.
So I went on and said my words.
While I was there, I didn't really notice what was in my feed.
What I noticed was suddenly I was getting notification after notification that my posts from years and years ago were getting deleted because they didn't fit whatever the current terms and conditions of use were.
This amused me.
So I left my words of dead classmate up for a week then sent my account silent again.
I can't see Facebook or any social media being a place I ever hang out again, which is a little bit of a bummer because without any social media, IRL social activities all but come to an immediate and total halt.
