All about social networks

The work of political theorist Bernardo Zacka illuminates the importance of “in-between spaces.” Zacka’s focus is on physical spaces, such as balconies on apartment buildings that overlook the street, and how they can enable what Zacka calls a “reserved sociability” that strengthens pluralism in democratic societies. (12) When the driver of a car s... See more

In a sense, the most important decision for any group to make is how to allocate their attention. In any online discussion platform, a deliberative consensus protocol can be used to focus attention on the most informative conversation threads and on comments that stand up to scrutiny, thereby promoting deep, honest, informed, and intelligent conver... See more

Unfollowing toxic social media influencers makes people less hostile! In 2 large field experiments, unfollowing a few extreme influencers: -Reduced partisan animosity by 24% -Increased satisfaction with Twitter/X -Led people to share higher-quality news Effects persisting for 6+ months and most people choose not to refollow the influencers after ... See more

For example, in one experiment, Stroud found that when comment sections on news sites replaced the “like” button with a “respect” button, users engaged with the content and each other in a less partisan way. In a few cases, the “respect” button led people to be more willing to click on comments expressing politics that differed from their own.