How can we defend our capacity for attention and empathy?

The following article was written by Boyd Collins, an information scientist, web application architect, and philosopher of technology. In it, he outlines how social media manipulates human behavior.

Through this article, Collins offers to us an understanding of how we can better use social media so that it can support full human relationships. He also offers some suggestions on how we can avoid emotional manipulation.

Editors Note: COVID-19 and lockdowns have forced people to rely on the internet for contact and connection. As such, we have all become susceptible to emotional manipulation, and the widespread censorship in social media has made us overly aware of the “devastating” impact of COVID-19, and have filled us all with panic and anxiety.

This is why this article from Collins is so urgent and needed at this time. We may have avoided a putative plague outside, but we are all falling into a real digital plague inside. Only when we awaken to how social media monetizes our emotions can we begin to break free from its control [the first step towards reclaiming our attention and empathy is by freeing ourselves, read END THE LOCKDOWNS! Stop It Outside By Ending The Lockdowns Inside Us]