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Originally Posted by KTrain
Where I see the similarities of CP with other social media (Reddit specifically) is the addictiveness of the interactions and, sometimes, the group-think mentality.
CP is where many people find out about news first. Whether it's political, sports, entertainment, etc. That news isn't alway fact checked or information is cherry picked to support the posters view. Sure it could and usually is debunked or errors pointed out by other posters but that's not always the case.
Contrary opinions get piled on and I see forms of bullying happen all the time. If someone says something that's incorrect or is a personal opinion that might seem "out there", it doesn't take the next 10 posters to tell them so.
I also sometimes question the mental health of posters who are unable to let go of an argument. They keep coming back to get in their two cents. If they didn't have this forum, would they just transfer that mentality to something else or would they be a little more relaxed because they didn't have this place to argue with someone?
You can't tell me that someone who posts on here 20-30 times a day isn't a little addicted to the interaction here?
I've spoken to 4 or 5 CPers in the real world, who have said they've had to take breaks from the site because they waste too much time here or the constant negativity is causing it to lose the fun or that they can't stop going to threads they know are just going to piss them off (usually the political stuff).
While CP doesn't force things on you the way other forms of social media do, it can be addictive and is a form of social media.
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I think both have different issues. Most people post news from legitimate sources, and if they don't, they get called out pretty quick. Nobody could legitimately post about the flat earth here, because they'd get ridiculed. Is that group think? I think that's more self-regulating, something the social media giants suffer from because they steer you to groups of people with similar views. You want to believe in flat earth? Here's a hundred videos and friend groups of them, enjoy the conversation! I find that far more dangerous.
Yes, there is the potentially addictive nature, but there is no direction from the forum guiding posters, other than the rules. CP doesn't track which threads you visit, and point you to ones that it thinks you might like. It isn't manipulating you. Anything can be addictive, be it video games, or gambling, or running, or watching and discussing sports. All can be done in moderated ways that are healthy, but taken to far, are dangerous.
So I guess the difference is on forums you aren't being manipulated behind the scenes by algorithms that have been designed to create addiction. As mentioned in the show, these systems aren't going to get worse at it, only better.