Linus Torvalds, the developer of the Linux operating system, which has been widely used around the world ā from smartphones to servers ā called social media a "disease." He stated this in an interview with Linux Journal.
"I absolutely hate modern 'social media' ā Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. It's a disease. They seem to encourage bad behavior," noted the developer.
This is quite an intriguing statement, especially in light of Torvalds' recent departure and return to the Linux project. He has often been accused of rudeness towards other programmers, and now he is sure to face backlash from users as well.
However, there is certainly some truth in the specialist's words. The essence is that social media is practically uncontrollable ā reactions can only be to direct insults or blatant violations of rules. Yet in some cases, responses are delayed and limited to merely blocking accounts.
Torvalds told Linux Journal that the Internet eliminates all social cues that are usually part of communication. This makes it easy to miss humor, sarcasm, and other aspects. It also becomes easy to overlook the recipient's reaction, which can lead to fierce arguments involving personal insults. Such occurrences are much less likely in face-to-face communication.
The specialist also noted that similar shortcomings exist in email, but they are more pronounced in social media since the latter is "designed" to elicit emotional responses from users.
Interestingly, Torvalds criticized the anonymity in social media, calling it "disgusting."
"Some people confuse privacy and anonymity, thinking they go hand in hand, and that protecting privacy means you need to guard anonymity. I think this is wrong. Anonymity is important if you are exposing [someone's dirty deeds], but if you can't prove your identity, your pompous speech on any social platform shouldn't be visible, and you shouldn't be able to spread it," added the programmer.
Interestingly, Mark Zuckerberg recently advocated for government regulation of social media. According to the Facebook founder, there are four areas that require government involvement: protecting personal data, transferring information between services, the use of the Internet in electoral campaigns, and combating offensive and illegal content.
"Clear rules are needed regarding what information can be used in the public interest," Zuckerberg noted.
Source: 3dnews.ru
