Zuckerberg’s Dilemma: When Facebook’s Success Is Bad for Society
Posted: January 8, 2018 Filed under: Censorship, Health and Social Issues, Mediasphere, Politics | Tags: Content Moderators, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, media, Mental health, Snapchat, Social media, Twitter Leave a comment
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with entrepreneurs and innovators at a round-table discussion in St. Louis on Nov. 9. Photo: Jeff Roberson/Associated Press
Facebook’s chief has signaled he will do what it takes to curb the social network’s negative effects—but how far will he go?
Christopher Mims reports: When scientists started linking cigarettes to cancer, the tobacco industry silenced them—only acknowledging the extent of the truth decades later, under legal duress.
Imagine if, instead, they had given these researchers license to publish papers, or even taken the information to heart and crippled their own moneymaking machines for the good of their addicted users.
No one has accused Facebook FB 1.37% of causing cancer, but Mark Zuckerberg now stands at a similar crossroads.
In the face of pressure brought by a growing roster of Facebook investors and former executives, many of whom have publicly stated that Facebook is both psychologically addictive and harmful to democracy, the Facebook founder and chief executive has pledged to “fix” Facebook by doing several things, including “making sure that time spent on Facebook is time well spent.”
Mr. Zuckerberg has also recently told investors he wants his company “to encourage meaningful social interactions,” adding that “time spent is not a goal by itself.”
Facebook researchers have acknowledged that while direct sharing between individuals and small groups on Facebook can have positive effects, merely scrolling through others’ updates makes people unhappy. Photo: ISTOCK
So here’s the multibillion-dollar question: Is he willing to sacrifice revenue for the well-being of Facebook’s two-billion-plus users?
Mr. Zuckerberg has already said the company will hire so many content moderators to deal with fake news and Russian interference that it will hurt profit, but whether he will go further and change the basic fabric of Facebook’s algorithms in the name of users’ mental health, he has yet to say.
[Read the full story here, at WSJ]
Clearly, Facebook, a company Mr. Zuckerberg started when he was in college, has changed so much that even its creator is playing catch-up to the reality of its globe-spanning power.
In June, he changed the company’s mission from “connecting” the world to bringing the world closer together. He said he used to think giving people a voice would make the world better on its own, “but our society is still divided. Now I believe we have a responsibility to do even more.”
In December, Facebook researchers surveyed the scientific literature and their own work and publicly acknowledged that while direct communication and sharing between individuals and small groups on Facebook can have positive effects, merely lurking and scrolling through others’ status updates makes people unhappy. Read the rest of this entry »
Arcan Cetin, Native of Turkey; ‘Call of Duty’ Player, #CascadeMallShooting Slayer
Posted: September 24, 2016 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption | Tags: #CascadeMallShooting, Arcan Cetin, Call of Duty, Mental health, Ronald Reagan, Turkey, Washington State 1 Comment
Arcan ‘The Turk’ Cetin: The suspect in the shooting deaths of five people in a mall in Washington state has been named.
Online records show that Cetin was arrested in July 2015 on charges of assault in the fourth degree. KIRO reports that as a result of the charges, Cetin was ordered to undergo mental health counselling that he completed in March 2016.
During which time, he was ordered not to take drugs or drink alcohol. As of August 25, 2016, Cetin was found in compliance with the court order.
Initial descriptions had described Cetin as being Hispanic. According to his Facebook page, Cetin is a native of Adana in Turkey. He’s a graduate of Oak Harbor High School, class of 2015.
Cetin describes his nickname as “The Turk.” Read the rest of this entry »
Best. Headline. Ever.
Posted: February 2, 2016 Filed under: Art & Culture, Health and Social Issues, Mediasphere, Reading Room, Think Tank | Tags: Books, Creativity, Happiness, Mental health, The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success, The Washington Post, Well Being Leave a comment
Emma Seppälä writes: We believe that the opposite of focus— daydreaming, goofing off, spacing out— is to be avoided. Worse yet, having problems focusing is seen as an obstacle to overcome and even as pathological. Self- help books and productivity bloggers strive to keep us on task with advice and hacks.
When we fail to come up with the results we were hoping for, we wonder whether we just aren’t working or concentrating hard enough. We’ve come to consider focus and being on as “good,” and idleness— especially if it goes on for too long— as “bad” and unproductive. We feel guilty if we spend too much time doing nothing.
But in thinking this way, we make a fundamental mistake.
[Order “The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success” from Amazon.com]
Truly successful people don’t come up with great ideas through focus alone. They are successful because they make time to not concentrate and to engage in a broad array of activities like playing golf.
As a consequence, they think inventively and are profoundly creative: they develop innovative solutions to problems and connect dots in brilliant ways. Dwight Eisenhower logged more hours on the golf course than any other U.S. president yet is also regarded as one of the best presidents this country has ever had. Read the rest of this entry »
[VIDEO] Dana Loesch: ‘What A Gun-Control Utopia Looks Like’
Posted: November 19, 2015 Filed under: Education, Guns and Gadgets, Law & Justice, Mediasphere, Politics, Self Defense, Think Tank, White House | Tags: Barack Obama, Civil Rights, Confiscation, Congress, Dana Loesch, Executive order, Gun control, Gun Dealer, Gun rights, Hillary Clinton, Mental health, National Gun Registry, NRA 2 Comments
Missouri Student Files Complaint Against Professor Who Called for ‘Muscle’
Posted: November 12, 2015 Filed under: Crime & Corruption, Education, Law & Justice, Mediasphere | Tags: Associated Press, Campus, Colorado State University, Columbia, Columbia Daily Tribune, Concealed carry in the United States, Constitutional amendment, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lawsuit, Mental health, Missouri, University of Missouri Leave a comment
Gamer Madhani reports: The University of Missouri student who filmed assistant professor Melissa Click call for “muscle” to eject him from a protest site on campus says he has filed a complaint with police alleging simple assault.
Mark Schierbecker said that he filed the complaint with campus police late Wednesday and was waiting to hear if they would press charges against Click, an assistant professor in the university’s Department of Communication. A police department spokesman, Major Brian Weimar, confirmed the complaint had been filed.
“We are looking into this and following up,” Weimar said.
Click did not immediately respond to request for comment.
A video showing a photographer’s clash with University of Missouri protesters who tried to block his access in a public section of campus is fanning debate about freedom of the press. (Nov. 10) AP
Video of a confrontation by Schierbecker on Monday showed allies of the Concerned Student 1950 movement berating another student-journalist, Tim Tai, who was trying to photograph a campsite that protesters had established on the university’s quad. At the end of the video, Schierbecker approaches Click, who calls for “muscle” to remove him from the protest area. She then appears to grab at Schierbecker’s camera. Read the rest of this entry »
Chart of the Day: What Americans Blame Most for Mass Shootings (Hint: it’s not gun laws)
Posted: October 26, 2015 Filed under: Guns and Gadgets, Health and Social Issues, Law & Justice, Mediasphere, Politics, Self Defense | Tags: Barack Obama, Civil Rights, Data, Gun laws, Gun rights, Mass Shootings, Mental health, Mental Health Problems, Statistics, Washington Post Leave a comment
63% blame unaddressed mental health problems, 23% blame gun laws.
Source: The Washington Post
Senate Democrats Scheme How to Spectacularly Fail At Gun Control
Posted: October 12, 2015 Filed under: Politics, Self Defense, White House | Tags: 2nd amendment, Chuck Schumer, Civil Rights, Democrats, failure, Government Overreach, Gun control, Gun rights, media, Mental health, news, Opportunism, propaganda, Regulations, Ron Wyden, Self-defense, Tyranny Leave a comment
Rallying around three theatrical ‘principles of action,’ the group proposed laws to close imaginary ‘loopholes’, try to expand invasive background databases to create additional burdens for understaffed law enforcement agencies, ignore meaningful mental health legislation reform, and try to think up new ways to harass law-abiding citizens with pointless regulatory efforts that they admit has no hope of saving lives, or surviving challenges in the courts, but is aimed at pacifying their base of control-craving, gun-hating, feeble-minded, anti-democratic, highly-emotional low-information voters.
Philip Wegmann reports: In the week after the mass shooting in Roseburg, Ore., Senate Democrats gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to demand stricter gun control and unveil their comprehensive policy package to achieve it.
“If Obama and gun control advocates were serious, they would address the underlying issue of America’s broken mental health system,” Cox said in a statement. “Instead, they push gun control initiatives that would not have prevented any of the tragedies they seek to exploit.”
Frustrated by the inaction of Republicans and hamstrung by a lack of votes, the group of more than two dozen Senate Democrats sought to spark debate by appealing directly to the public.
“The roll call of American gun tragedies is already far too long,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. “The victims and their families deserve better than a Congress that shrugs its shoulder and waits for the next tragedy.”
Rallying around three “principles of action,” the group proposed laws to close background check loopholes, expand background databases, and crack down on illegal gun sales.
Numerically virtually impossible to pass in the Republican-controlled House, gun control legislation also faces an uphill battle in the Senate. Read the rest of this entry »
[VIDEO] EXCLUSIVE: Leaked Footage of Clinton Lawyer’s Psychotic Meltdown
Posted: August 23, 2015 Filed under: Entertainment, Law & Justice, Mediasphere, Politics, The Butcher's Notebook, White House | Tags: Clinton Foundation, Democratic Party, DOJ, Email server, Frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, Lawyer, Mental health, news, Parody, Personal Server, Pundit Planet Media, scandal, The Pantsuit Report, video Leave a comment
Good News from Japan: ‘We’re not killing ourselves as much as we were a few years ago’
Posted: January 15, 2015 Filed under: Global, Health and Social Issues, Japan | Tags: Health Care, Mental health, Statistics, Suicide, Suicide Rate, Wall Street Journal Leave a comment
Portlandia is Real: Naked Woman Climbs Downtown Portland Flagpole
Posted: August 22, 2014 Filed under: Health and Social Issues, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: Associated Press, Downtown Portland, Fire extinguisher, KOMO-TV, Mental health, Portland, Portland Oregon, Portlandia, Yeon Building 4 Comments
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Police say they’ve sent a 34-year-old woman to the hospital for a mental evaluation after she made a naked flagpole climb on the roof of a downtown Portland office building.
Police said she stripped about midnight Wednesday, hauled down the flag and then wrapped herself in it, brandishing a lighter and fire extinguisher.
“Arson investigators said they didn’t know whether she was linked to a rooftop fire at the nearby 15-story Yeon Building that broke out about the same time.”
Then, officers said, she began throwing construction glue from the building, listed as having 12 floors. Several vehicles were damaged.
Officers say she appeared to be in a mental health crisis and may have been taking stimulant drugs. Read the rest of this entry »
[VIDEO] Six The Movie — Helen Smith
Posted: December 10, 2013 Filed under: Crime & Corruption, History, Mediasphere | Tags: Documentary film, Health, Helen Smith, Kentucky, Libertarianism, Marriage, Mental health, murder, New York, PJ Media 1 CommentDr. Helen Smith writes:
“I often get requests to see my video Six about a group of teenagers who killed a family in East Tennessee. I am no longer selling the documentary, but PJM has been kind enough to upload it to YouTube so that PJM readers can watch it if they wish. It is now almost a decade old but much of the complexity of mass murder still holds true today. I hope my readers find it of interest.”
With recent crimes and mass shootings, the national debate has shifted to questions of mental health, parenting, and the ability of the legal system to deal with troubled youths. These are all issues that PJ Media contributor Dr. Helen Smith addressed in an award-winning 2003 documentary. Her film “Six,” featured in programming on A&E and WeTV, tells the story of a group of Kentucky teens who murdered a family of Jehovah’s Witnesses despite clear warning signs. Though many want to blame violence on guns, the factors involving violence are much more complex than simply blaming a weapon. Watch the documentary, and see what happens when the system fails, as it all too often does.
House Stenographer FREAKS OUT on House floor during debt deal vote
Posted: October 17, 2013 Filed under: Law & Justice, Politics, U.S. News | Tags: Congress, Daily Caller, House of Representatives, Mental health, stenographer 5 Comments
Alexis Levinson reports: A House stenographer exploded on the House floor Wednesday evening, shortly before the House concluded its vote to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling.
The stenographer, according to Texas Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro, went up to the dais during the vote, just below the Speaker’s chair, where Florida Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was presiding, and began shouting. His first thought, he told reporters, was to wonder how someone could have gotten onto the House floor from outside — only members and staff are permitted on the floor.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram identified the woman as Dianne Reidy, a stenographer for the House. According to Legistorm, Reidy’s salary comes to $126,050.04, more than double the median U.S. income of $52,100. She has been in the job since 2005.
Reidy’s Facebook page lists a variety of Christian interests, along with HuffPost Impact.
Castro told a group of reporters Reidy had “kind of crazed look, quite frankly. It was very disturbing for members of Congress.”
“The microphone was off,” Castro said, so no one could hear what she was saying.
Reporters standing outside the chamber saw the doors burst open as people physically pushed her out of the chamber as she resisted and toward an elevator.
“He will not be mocked,” she said repeatedly, as five or so people held her in front of the elevator door. Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert stood to the side looking very concerned. He touched her arm and tried to comfort her, but she appeared inconsolable.
“It is deception here,” she continued, yelling loudly. “This is not, one nation under God. It never was. Had it been, it would not have been… It would not have been, the Constitution would not have been written by Free Masons. They go against God. You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve two masters. Praise be to God, Lord Jesus Christ.”
Reidy continued ranting until an elevator arrived and she was pushed inside.
Gun Control Alert: The American Public Health Association is Targeting Veterans and Their Guns
Posted: October 16, 2013 Filed under: Self Defense, U.S. News | Tags: American Public Health Association, Barack Obama, Gun, Gun violence, Mental health, Pacific Northwest, Sandy Hook, United States Leave a comment
Nancy Keaton writes: The American Public Health Association is now targeting veterans and their guns. Several months ago I wrote an article warning that the mental health discussion after Sandy Hook could lead to the back door to gun control.
And now here we are. Obama is using the American Public Health Association as a pawn to go after veterans and their guns under the guise of mental health.
I have a strong interest in the field of health.
I even considered going into public health at one point.
So I was very excited a few years back when I got to participate in a research project and present it at the APHA Conference.
pundit from another planet 