this post was submitted on 19 May 2026
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[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Yes I've been noticing that for years. Talking about it is always well received on social media.

I've also been noticing people's attention spans and analytical skills deteriorating, as they take as little time as possible to process an item, make a superficial judgement that confirms what they already think, and continue scrolling. The goal of information consumption seems to be to process as many little items as fast as possible, spending as little time and brain power as possible on each one. But talking about that on social media isn't usually as well received.

One thing that never changes is people's selectivity about problems they're willing to face vs ignore.

[–] UPGRAYEDD@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Also worth noting that this has happened throughout history many times.

What is new is the power a small group of people can truly have due to technology. The algorithms of social media and ai can now push the general populations opinions. Not unlike the propaganda of the past, but much stronger and more subtle. The surveillance of every citizen can be used to squeeze and silence the population on an individual level.

Throughout history, the level of wealth inequality and corruption we currently see often causes a revolt, usually followed by a dictator. But this may be the 1st time in human history that the technology enables a small group of people to prevent revolution essentially forever.

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I agree up to "forever". People with too much wealth and power tend to feel invulnerable until they find out they aren't.

[–] UPGRAYEDD@lemmy.world 2 points 22 hours ago

Yes, this is why the future is scary. In the past, no matter how much wealth or power you had, it was implemented through people. Your army, tax collectors etc. Those people understand the system and could overthrow the current system.

In the future, its algorithms and robots that are the source of the power. The robots and algorithms wont overthrow their masters. (And if they do, its probably the end of humanity altogether). And with the level of surveillance, any human that even thinks about revolution can be instantly discovered and dealt with immediately.