We've been merging with tools since the beginning of human evolution, and arguably, that's one of the things that makes us human beings.
Franklin FoerRead
The biggest problem is that Facebook and Google are these giant feedback loops that give people what they want to hear. And when you use them in a world where your biases are being constantly confirmed, you become susceptible to fake news, propaganda, demagoguery.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Social media platforms can reinforce our biases, leading to misinformation and manipulation.
Franklin Foer highlights the dangers of social media giants, such as Facebook and Google, which create feedback loops that cater to users' preferences. This environment fosters confirmation bias, making individuals vulnerable to false information, propaganda, and persuasive rhetoric, ultimately impacting public discourse and understanding.
Themes
Social MediaBiasMisinformationPropagandaFeedback Loop
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about media literacy, this quote could illustrate the challenges of discerning truth amidst rampant misinformation.
More from Franklin Foer
All quotes →I grew up using maps and having a sense of direction, and now I have a phone. I used to try to remember numbers, and now I... can just call them up instantly. And that's great. But what's happening right now is that we're in a phase of human evolution where we're merging with machines.
Franklin FoerRead
Similar quotes
Overwhelmed by the miraculous potentialities of the machine, our human greed has interfered with the biological cycle of human companionship which keeps the life of a community healthy.
Walter GropiusRead
If you and your skills are a complement to the computer, your wage and labor market prospects are likely to be cheery. If your skills do not complement the computer, you may want to address that mismatch. Ever more people are starting to fall on one side of the divide or the other. That's why 'average is over.'
Tyler CowenRead
Given that my title at Google is Chief Internet Evangelist, I feel like there is this great challenge before me because we have three billion users, and there are seven billion people in the world.
Vint CerfRead
There have been people that suggest that we should have a back door. But the reality is if you put a back door in, that back door's for everybody - for good guys and bad guys.
Tim CookRead
Given that everyone's got a voice, it's the age of the democratisation of information through digital technology. That means women can rise up, and people of colour can rise up, and these stories are much more present to us. And that's great.
Tim MinchinRead
Everything is fraught with danger. I love technology and I love science. It's just always all in the way you use it. So there's no - you can't really blame anything on the technology. It's just the way people use it, and it always has been.
Steve MartinRead