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Chamath Palihapitiya, a former vice president for user growth at Facebook, feels (some) guilt about his role in expanding the social media giant:
Palihapitiya's criticisms were aimed not only at Facebook, but the wider online ecosystem. "The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops we've created are destroying how society works," he said, referring to online interactions driven by "hearts, likes, thumbs-up." "No civil discourse, no cooperation; misinformation, mistruth. And it's not an American problem — this is not about Russians ads. This is a global problem."
He went on to describe an incident in India where hoax messages about kidnappings shared on WhatsApp led to the lynching of seven innocent people. "That's what we're dealing with," said Palihapitiya. "And imagine taking that to the extreme, where bad actors can now manipulate large swathes of people to do anything you want. It's just a really, really bad state of affairs." He says he tries to use Facebook as little as possible, and that his children "aren't allowed to use that shit." He later adds, though, that he believes the company "overwhelmingly does good in the world."
[...] In his talk, Palihapitiya criticized not only Facebook, but Silicon Valley's entire system of venture capital funding. He said that investors pump money into "shitty, useless, idiotic companies," rather than addressing real problems like climate change and disease. Palihapitiya currently runs his own VC firm, Social Capital, which focuses on funding companies in sectors like healthcare and education.
From a partial transcript:
You don't realize it, but you are being programmed. It was unintentional, but now you gotta decide how much you're willing to give up. How much of your intellectual independence, and don't think, yeah, not me, I'm a genius, I'm at Stanford. You're probably the most likely to fall for it. Because you are check-boxing your whole damn life. No offense, guys.
Previously: Facebook Founding President Sounds Alarm, Criticizes Facebook
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Monday December 11 2017, @11:26PM (6 children)
Sigh.
It's NOT addiction, it's stupidity.
Just. Drop. It.
Delete your account and go do something else! Simple.
Im an alcoholic.
I stopped cold turkey. (How you ask?)
I don't buy booze. If you don't buy booze, you can't drink it. Simple.
I don't go to bars. If you don't buy booze, you can't drink it. Simple.
I now fill my time with other things. Sometimes it's hard, reeeal hard, but again if I don't drive to the liquor store, I can't have any to drink. Simple.
So, delete your account. Now. Do it.
So simple.
Or are you not a strong enough person? If not, don't blame addiction. Blame yourself.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 3, Insightful) by arslan on Tuesday December 12 2017, @06:11AM (1 child)
You're just redefining the label from your perspective. Others view it as an addiction, so yea fine if you view it as stupidity. That's yer opinion.
I used to a smoker too and yes I stopped because I just willed it. There was a struggle much like you put it. It was only stupid in so far as I knew the consequences but still smoked, but in terms of quitting its not like stupidity where I educated myself out of the habit. I had to fight it mentally like an addiction. Not buying fags or alcohol or deleting your social media account is just a simple act, the hard part is the mental and at times physiological (I don't know if the cold sweats and hunger pangs were real or just in my head) battle.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday December 12 2017, @11:46AM
Yeah, it can be hard: I just hate all the "it's a disease, I am helpless, I need GOD!!" bullshit.
You just need to want it and do it. Don't hide and say you're helpless.
Congrats on quitting smoking! :)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday December 12 2017, @06:53AM
Most voters for example
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 1) by DiarrhoeaChaChaCha on Tuesday December 12 2017, @12:54PM (2 children)
Well...you clearly have never truly been addicted to alcohol, if you could just quit drinking 'cold turkey'.
Either that, or you're letting your own smugness get in the way of understanding that addictions, whatever form they take, are as bad as whatever debilitating effect they have on each addict.
Still, that would be rather dissappointing, coming from a recovering addict.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday December 12 2017, @07:10PM (1 child)
And you know all this how?
Tell me:
If I don't buy liquor, can I drink liquor?
If I am HONEST with myself, and I occupy myself when I start wanting a drink (which I wanted (again) today) instead of driving to the liquor store, HOW CAN I DRINK?
Tell me how?
How do you drink booze when you have no booze?
How do you eat if you have no food?
If you're NOT honest with yourself, you get in the car and you buy liquor. But that means you are fooling only yourself and you are not really ready to give it up.
If you are, you just don't buy it, and you go outside and you shovel snow like a fiend.
It all depends on DO YOU REALLY WANT TO QUIT!?!
No babying yourself, no fooling yourself...no being weak.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 1) by DiarrhoeaChaChaCha on Wednesday December 13 2017, @01:09PM
I do not know. That was kind of my point. Just like you don't whether FB can be addictive or not. It isnt' for you. Good for you, but you're just you.
At the same time you seem to equivocate Facebook not being addictive with your own alcoholism, leaving me to conclude that, for you, neither is an addiction.
I doubt there are very many addicts who really want to be addicted. That's the nature of addiction. It's compulsive.
I am glad you had (and still have) the mental strength to step away but stating 'they just do not want to quit badly enough', while technically true, is grossly oversimplifying the problem.