Ross Kimbarovsky asked if social media has made us less human. We responded.
Two answers:
1. No. Humans have always used code as a proxy for relationships, and social media is no more inhuman than any of the other old systems for filtering connections. Think of how we've always judged others: The way you dress, style your hair, the language you use (a very specific type of code), what you say vs. what you mean, what I perceive vs. who you are, have always been screens that get in the way of true human understanding. Influence was our second Darwinian instinct after killing others, and to influence we need to play games of status, and status hierarchies require coded societal structures. So social media tools are just a new engine on top of those old ones, albeit with more horsepower, pulling us toward more filtered relationships. We have greater velocity in our relationship additions, but we just add more human distance over time. Nothing has changed except our speed.
2. Yes. The fact that I can type this at you, as can anyone, without really knowing you makes you and I both automatons, illusions of human beings connected with each other. With enough computing power I could be a bot pretending to be a guy named Ben, as could you Ross be a program alluding to be an entrepreneur. So the flesh-and-blood aspect of humanity may be disappearing as we move into the code of the computer.
Living inside a computer. Someone should make a movie about that.
Image: Nick Wheeler
1 comments:
Simply want to say your article is astonishing. The clearness in your post is simply spectacular and i can assume you are an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your rss feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please keep up the gratifying work.
Post a Comment