Why does social media promote being delusional?

[Anonymous]

[OneViewpoint]

Because it's all bullshit. Fake. Phony.

• Pictures of exotic places and exotic meals that you've had once in your life.
• Pictures of someone else's yacht and Ferrari.
• Filtered and Photoshopped images.
• No photos of bed head or doing chores around the house.
• All the happy things.
• None of the failures and depressing things.
• Pics of the party where you're smiling with a drink in your hand.
• No pics of you puking in the uber after the walk of shame with his cum in your hair.
• Perfect makeup all the time.
• No shots of you with zero makeup.

Stupid / needy people believe in that as a reality rather than the sham that it is and try to recreate it in their own life. But they can't. It's not real. Then they get depressed because they can't live up to the lies. It is bizarre.

[Summeroflove]

It’s a place people can share things especially anonymously. It’s a place where people can get into echo chambers. Basically getting into little groups where if you don’t agree with them on everything. They kick you out. And convince one another they’re right and everyone who doesn’t think like them is wrong.

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Are you talking about how the ultra rich take over algorithm feeds with their displays of luxury, or are you talking about people documenting their psychosis episodes, or are you talking about manifesting videos that encourage positive thinking and visualization, or are you talking about heavily sexualized videos where people pretend to be a virtual boyfriend/girlfriend? I need some context here

[Asker]

Yes all of that

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

The first has to do with the sociological fact that anything the rich/upper class do is immediately considered desirable and when people try to imitate them, they get more attention, which is what social media wants to do: give attention to things people want to see.

The second has to do with our ability to be entertained by the inherently negative, both as it appeals to our natural instincts to watch dangerous things in order to protect ourselves but also our instinct to empathize, so social media shows us what it thinks we want to see.

The third has to do with people trying to make active changes and manifesting/spiritual types usually fall into that same idea of rich/upper class stuff because it offers a way to reach that state without working too much, and naturally a positive thinking process can do wonders for one who wants to make an active change, which is many of us, so social media algorithms show us what it thinks we want to see.

And for the last one, a form of escapism and entertainment where the people doing it know fully well the shallow nature of their audience and use it to their advantage to make money and as more people interact with it, the farther out the algorithm pushes it because that’s what it thinks we want to see. And truthfully, the algorithm is right, we as a people do want to watch these things because comparing ourselves to others is something we constantly do already, whether comparing ourselves to someone we think is better than us and feeling jealous or inspired to imitate them, or comparing to someone we think is worse than us and feeling better about ourselves. Humans are hierarchal thinkers, and social media algorithms are not only aware of it, they cater to it. They just need to figure out how we want to compare ourselves to others.

[Asker]

Thank you

[FreyaRed]

You should act emotionally and impulsive, because you're easier to manipulate that way.

[Dargil]

Social media does not promote truth it promotes narratives that make somebody money. Now with AI and CG, dark videos of appalling things are coming out. Soon you can't believe your eyes unless you are a witness.

[exitseven]

Social media is basically the platform for the lowest common denominator.

[Anonymous]

GAG is technically a social media site too and promotes some delusional narratives

[jamesgoldman]

Keeps the masses distracted

[jahaims]

It normalizes unhealthy behavior