The Chaos Machine

This book's subject matter is very important and essential to read when it comes to the rise of social media and how it has negatively impacted our society and the world at large through hate, addictive tactics, and corporate greed. That being said, much of this book for me I already knew the ins and outs of, so it was pretty redundant and repetitive for me. It's one of the few books I've listened to as an audiobook and the really dull narrator didn't help either. If you don't know much of about the stories and events that this book covers, then this would be a very well detailed and insightful read. If not, then I'd probably skip.

Social media is as bad as you think it is. Aliens, send help pls.

4.5 scared/angry stars. I vaguely knew this info going in, but seeing it all in one place profoundly disturbed and alarmed me. The major social media companies (Alphabet/Google/YouTube, Facebook/Instagram, Twitter) are all fully aware that their machine-learning algorithms are pushing people towards more extreme content. Despite studies showing that this extremism directly led to tragedies like genocide in Myanmar and mass murders in Sri Lanka, not to mention Charlottesville and January 6, 2022 in our own country, the companies refuse to change their practices. They exist to make a profit, and more extreme videos = more engagement = more money.

Fisher introduces social psychology themes such as moral outrage and false polarization to explain how and why people become extremists. He also delves into the early years of Silicon Valley's ascendance, demonstrating the almost messianic and libertarian mindset of Zuckerberg, Dorsey and other CEOs.

I think it's time to suspend my social media accounts and maybe call a friend instead.

One of the best non-fiction books that I read recently. Max Fisher did an excellent job of stating how social media has affected global affairs and social movements as a whole.