Americans throw away 500 million plastic straws each day – or not

Americans throw away 500 million plastic straws each day – or not

Americans are said to use 500 million plastic straws each day. Where did the 500 million estimate come from? A child named Milo Cress did a telephone survey – when he was nine years old in 2011. This is said to be the sole source of this estimate, now quoted by politicians, the media, the National Park Service and the National Restaurant Association. A lot of people accept this number without realizing it means roughly everyone in the U.S. uses…

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Does social media play a role in “wealth culture”?

Does social media play a role in “wealth culture”?

This problem pre-dates social media but it is likely that social media has amplified some of its effects: “We’ve gone from a culture that prized hard work, frugality and discretion as the central tenets of the American Dream to a culture that prized celebrity, bling and narcissism.” Source: Sundance film documents ‘wealth culture’ addiction spiralling out of control – MarketWatch Television has played a big role in promoting celebrities.  Social media, especially Instagram but also Facebook, creates an environment for…

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How Twitter’s shadow banning system works

How Twitter’s shadow banning system works

Here is some insight in to how Twitter’s shadow banning algorithm’s may be operating. In addition to their “machine learning” (a good but significantly over-hyped technology) scanning of messages, their algorithms take in to account user reports, and the muting or blocking of accounts to decide if individual tweets or accounts should be shadow banned. The user that is shadow banned is not notified of the ban. Once shadow banned, one’s Tweets may not show up in some follower’s Twitter…

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Instagram said to use shadow banning

Instagram said to use shadow banning

See here. On Instagram, if you use the same hash tags too often, Instagram shadow bans your account because they can. Instagram is owned and operated by Facebook, which also shadow bans posts. It looks like all online platforms engage in shadow banning.

Was I “shadow banned” by Twitter? #shadowbanned

Was I “shadow banned” by Twitter? #shadowbanned

For a little over a month last fall, I ramped up my daily use of Twitter. During that time, I posted many screen snapshots of actual price quotes from HealthCare.gov. For 4 weeks, I did not see a single new follower to my Twitter feed. It was as if my account had vanished. Not one additional follower for 4 weeks. With the news that Twitter actively censors political or policy speech that Twitter disagrees with, it seems likely that Twitter shadow…

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Constant consumption of news leads to anxiety, sleep problems, night mares, sense of distraction and loss of control

Constant consumption of news leads to anxiety, sleep problems, night mares, sense of distraction and loss of control

Staying informed is a strength, but for many people it’s mushroomed into an obsession with the news. Source: My therapy clients can’t tear themselves away from the news — and it’s messing with their lives – The Washington Post Personally, I found that certain subjects were “triggering” anxiety in me and I have cut way back on news and social media consumption. I also unfollowed or unfriended individuals who spent most of their social media time baiting people with hostile…

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We watched a social media propaganda theme explode in real time – and you won't believe what happened next!

We watched a social media propaganda theme explode in real time – and you won't believe what happened next!

This past week we learned about social media idiots! In a world where facts and logic no longer matter, a train derailment on the first paying passenger run on a brand new, $181 million upgraded rail corridor, completed as part of an $800 million dollar infrastructure upgrade, is: An example of America’s “crumbling infrastructure” An example of America’s lack of investment in infrastructure An example that future budgets (which might cut infrastructure spending) caused this crash, in the present An…

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U.S. firms use social media age-based ad targeting to discriminate against older workers

U.S. firms use social media age-based ad targeting to discriminate against older workers

Major U.S. employers use social media’s ability to display job ads only to those in certain age groups, such as between age 25 to 36, or below age 38 or below age 50. They are using this feature to advertise job openings only to younger workers, thereby removing older workers from their candidate pool. Examples: Verizon targeted showed ads only to those age 25 to 36 years old UPS targeted age 19 to 35 State Farm targeted age 19 to…

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Another example of “Begging the Question” fallacy

Another example of “Begging the Question” fallacy

The very first passenger train with paying customers crashed on a brand new rail line with a brand new locomotive.  A spokesperson then proceeds to tell us that the railroad is safe: “It’s important to note, this is not a comment on the safety of those tracks. We have no reason to believe those tracks are anything but safe,” WSDOT spokeswoman Barbara LaBoe said. “This is a decision based on sensitivity both to the people involved in Monday’s tragic events and…

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Taking “selfies” may be a sign of a behavioral health disorder say psychologists

Taking “selfies” may be a sign of a behavioral health disorder say psychologists

Term was first coined in 2014 as part of a spoof article claiming selfitis was to be deemed a mental disorder Now researchers from the UK and India have confirmed that ‘selfitis’ does exist There are three categories – borderline, acute and chronic, they say ‘Selfitis’ is a genuine mental disorder Says if you take 3 or more selfies a day, even if not posted on line, you are borderline. People taking 6 or more selfies per day are suffering…

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