We're Thinking About Facebook Wrong

Usually I'm up in the description being like, "here are a bunch of things I wasn't really able to fit in the video" but actually...turns out, if you let me go for 20 minutes, I get most of it out.

OK, I guess the one insight I had durning this that didn't fit is to do with righteous superiority. It (and fear) are most effective on people who struggle with self worth (which is to say...y'know...basically everyone, but also some people more than others.) In particular, people who might have been told that they would have a lot of status but then ended up not getting it might be very susceptible to both fear-based and superiority-based content. Interestingly, the fear and the superiority almost always go hand-in-hand. Like, "here are the people you are superior to, and here is why you should be afraid of them" is a wildly engaging thought.

Anyway, this is really intense and I hope we all get through it.

2:00 So... Facebook is scary
3:56 We're babies
6:58 Ok, but what is Facebook?
10:43 What should we do?
16:10 Platforms don't just host!
19:02 Facebook is regulating society
19:40 The end

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[adityakhanna]

I knew Hank would have thoughts on this but that's five times more thoughts than I thought he would have thoughts

[TJ]

hank trying to put informational video essayists out of business over here

[taylor-]

As someone who hasn't been on Facebook for years, it's very weird that something that isn't a part of my day is such an influential force on the world around me

[puffinmcpuffin]

That point about watching history videos and getting sent into an alt-right pipeline is absolutely true. If you want to watch anything related to military history, colonialism, or religion you cannot escape suggested alt-right content on YouTube especially.

Oddly, this is also true of Star Wars.

[neonmaple]

"Social media creates two feelings very well Fear and Righteous superiority"

Right on the bulls eye right there.

[TimeSorceror]

I know video essays are not really the job of vlogbrothers videos, but honestly, I really enjoyed this?? I kind of want more topics in a similar format. Just thought I'd put that in because you know, feedback is important. :)

[brwneyedgirlx]

"A hundo p baller move" is a phrase I want to incorporate into my vocabulary

[Toastwig]

Your clarification that outrage is actually righteous superiority, and the distinction between what is posted vs promoted on a platform, are two really helpful thoughts! thank you.
It's almost like you think about the internet a lot or something.

[renendarkfire]

"I'm just not _so_ pro regulation on these companies that I will ignore reality." This is the kind of nuance that everyone needs to add to their views.

[morganherring]

I was LITERALLY JUST A COUPLE HOURS AGO talking to my Mom about how Pizzamas is the only time of year where I really really wish you guys posted longer videos because having them every day just makes me crave more, and I come back to my computer and AN EXTRA LONG EDUCATIONAL VIDEO? WHAT A GIFT.

[Xatzimi]

Me:" Ah a new Pizzamas video, I'll watch this with my morning coffee."
Hank: "...which makes it exempt from the four minute vlogbrothers rule"
[checks length] "oh"

[miacoss]

The transition music choices in this were incredible. Ok Go, Queen, The Flaming Lips, Dragostea Din Tei, Smash Mouth, Rick Astley and The Gregory Brothers!!! Bloody iconic, Hank.

[Decnavda]

This is wonderful. This is a type of essay that would like to see more of: It perfectly describes the problem without offering a solution. I mean, I love solutions, and I do want to see them, and if you have one when you describe a problem, by all means share it. But often people are so focused on their solution that they do not accurately describe the problem, and you cannot find a real solution until you have accurately described the problem. Even worse, people tend to develop their description of the problem to fit their proposed solution, which is completely backwards, and makes it all that much harder to get an accurate description of the problem and therefor a solution. Finally, the belief that we should not post essays about a problem without offering a solution stops, or worse warps, people who see the problem but not the solution from describing the problem to the rest of us. I want to see more of this.

[GuerardPR]

I usually don’t comment on content but since the “algorithm” likes it, and it goes into the “black box” of it’s AI, this is my contribution to its calculations.

[austinhehir]

You know its real when Hank breaks out the jacket

[andersonneil]

Im in school for library science right now and almost all of our training around being a librarian is on information literacy. It's what the field has taken on as their domain, much of the academic literature on the subject is written by librarians. I find it strange that no one ever considers libraries a resource to help solve these issues

[TierZoo]

my main takeaway is that wow why is Dragostea Din Tei not still on my playlist? how did I forget one of the greatest songs ever written?

[hhoneycutt]

I've been a worker bee in the internet industry since the time when everybody who worked on internet computers could ALL go out to the same Mcdonald's at the same time and NOT crowd the place, I've watched it grow, and I share your feeling that somehow, probably for the better, this thing is going to change the world more than agriculture did. And the I've followed you two for years, always well written and thought out, but this is your best work ever. And I agree. We pretty well understand how the internet works, and how it delivers content, but we are only now realizing that the two biggest questions out there still are "How SHOULD it work?" and "What does it mean to do this?"

[rougenaxela]

I would say that removing the recommendation engines, trending, etc.... and making social media feeds just purely be a chronological list of the content people have subscribed to receiving, would go a long way to fixing a major subset of the problems. Give users full control over what they sign up for and how they filter/prioritize it. It would be a far healthier user experience. It would of course also be much less profitable for the companies, and no small number of users would find being set free uncomfortable, so of course social media companies won't willingly do that.

[janMelantu]

No shade on full-time video essayists, but I felt more informed after this 20 minute video than the hour-long ones that seem to be popular these days. My time feels respected and there’s a balance between information density and clarity.