Social media, politics, and the bubble of distraction

When the President changes our country so drastically, will we have a new concept of what’s normal? If our social media feeds consist of people who think just like us, how can we expect social change? And why do we always assume the future will be better than the past? In the latest episode of the Interesting People in Interesting Times podcast, Maria Konnikova, author of The Confidence Game, explains what Trump’s lies do to your brain, why we fall for the same tricks every time, and how humanity is hardwired for hope–and why that’s problematic. 
 
Konnikova discusses the idea of changing norms: how we behave as a society, where we get our ideas about how to act, and how fixed vs. malleable they are. She explains that what drives all human behavior is simple. We would much rather be liked, than we would to be right. “Throughout history, human beings want to go with the majority, rather than be the lone person doing the morally right thing to do,” she says. 
 
While social norms can change very quickly — and especially so, when driven by someone in a position of authority — biases, on the other hand, are deeply set. And believe it or not, the most problematic bias we have as a society is our optimism. Humanity is hardwired for hope, and that’s what keeps getting us into trouble. 
 
“Look at the Mueller investigations,” Konnikova says. “[Our reaction to that is] ‘Oh, well, this time, something’s actually going to stick.’ You could see it happening even before the election. People saying Donald Trump is never going to win the nomination. After that, it was: ‘Oh, he’s never going to accept.’ Then it was ‘Oh, but he’s not actually going to win.’  [Then it became] ‘he’s not going to accept the presidency.’ And now ‘he’s going to be impeached.’ This is all a complete delusion. We’re all still hopelessly optimistic. The fact that we think tomorrow is going to be better than today is what gets us out of bed. Unfortunately, it’s also what’s going to keep Trump in office.” 

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock/Brian A. Jackson

Speaking of what’s going to keep Trump in office, Konnikova talks about Facebook and the bubble of distraction that technology builds around us. She describes the concept of cognitive load: your brain can only handle so much, and when you can’t sift through everything, you start to just accept it. “Companies like Facebook have a responsibility to recognize that their platforms are incredibly powerful. Who reads my feed? People who agree with me. So with something like gun control, [if we want to drive change] we need to get leaders within key communities — Republicans, members of the NRA, gun owners, to speak out. We can’t keep talking to one another and think we’re making a difference.” 
 
“The genius of Trump’s approach is that he figures out the version of the world that would make you happy. We’re losing jobs? I’ll give you jobs. You feel that the country is about people who are the liberal elite? Well, I’m not the liberal elite, I’m about you. So he looks everyone in the eye and he tells them their version of the world [is the right one.] That’s what the best con artists do. And what are you going to do when someone tells you the world is exactly how you suspected? You’re going to say “There you go, that’s exactly what I’ve been saying all these years.” 
 
One of the ways in which Trump is able to do what he does is through sheer repetition. When you say something that’s false over and over and over, people start thinking it’s actually true, because the brain gets used to it. “Humans are lazy,” Konnikova adds. “We like the status quo. It’s nice to be told ‘Don’t worry about it. We’ve got it handled. It will all be fine.”
 
Interesting People in Interesting Times is a podcast hosted by Tom Goodwin and Adriana Stan. This episode was recorded last month at Soho House New York. 
 
Listen to the podcast here. 

Views: 61

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Was a Planned Civil War Averted?
"cheeki kea, you are spot on. The old guard is about to collapse! "
16 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Alligator Creek and a Japanese Massacre
"cheeki kea, the Japanese thought they could expand their empire and exact enough damage on the US…"
16 hours ago
Michelle Reichert favorited Burbia's video
yesterday
cheeki kea posted a video

NEW DOCUMENTARY - Dissent Into Madness

TRANSCRIPT AND SOURCES: https://www.corbettreport.com/dissent-into-madness/What if the delusions of the dissidents are in fact real? What if their paranoid f...
yesterday
cheeki kea commented on Doc Vega's blog post Alligator Creek and a Japanese Massacre
"Japan served themselves up no favours by inching out into the South Pacific as they soon found out.…"
yesterday
cheeki kea commented on Doc Vega's blog post Was a Planned Civil War Averted?
"Their plans did not work out because we are the news now, and the old news is the enemy. "
yesterday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Alligator Creek and a Japanese Massacre

The year is 1942 just a few months after the Pearl Harbor disaster. Despite losses suffered by the…See More
Tuesday
Doc Vega commented on Burbia's video
Thumbnail

CHARLIE KIRK WAS CNP! JOSH REEVES 9-11-25

"With all due respect this guy comes off as a drunken asshole and he didn't even  know who…"
Monday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Was a Planned Civil War Averted?

We are living in sadly historic times where good and evil are in battle all the time. Not that this…See More
Sunday
Sandy posted a photo
Sunday
Less Prone posted a video

President Trump addresses U.N. General Assembly - FULL SPEECH

President Donald Trump speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.Full video here: https://www.c-span.org/event/white-house-event/preside...
Sunday
Burbia posted a video

2 MIN AGO: Western Provinces MAJOR New WEXIT Announcement - Canada EXPLODES!

In a stunning turn of events, Western provinces just made a major new WEXIT announcement — and it’s shaking the foundations of Canadian unity. Is Western sep...
Saturday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

How You Provoke a Civil War

In the world of counter intelligence which is simply one aspect of many pertaining to asymmetrical…See More
Sep 26
Burbia commented on Burbia's video
Thumbnail

CHARLIE KIRK WAS CNP! JOSH REEVES 9-11-25

"I don't follow as much with Josh Reeves than I use to. He seems to be a documentary producing…"
Sep 25
Burbia posted a video

CHARLIE KIRK WAS CNP! JOSH REEVES 9-11-25

DONATE-paypal-dayglow76@yahoo.comCashapp-reevesradioVenmo-Josh-Reeves-61FILMS AND AUDIOBOOKS DOWNLOAD STORE-https://store.payloadz.com/results/242828-josh-re...
Sep 25
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Sep 25
tjdavis posted a video

CHARLIE KIRK VIDEO THAT KEEPS GETTING REMOVED OFF OF SEVERAL PLATFORMS

I had not planned to share this publicly, but I believe Advar, who spoke with Charlie Kirk while I was very ill, would have wanted me to. After my interview ...
Sep 25
pohonemas33 team commented on Chris of the family Masters's photo
Thumbnail

Gold-Coast-Message

"untuk bermain slot, kamu cukup kunjungi situs kacang99 pasti langsung gacor"
Sep 24
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Sep 24
Burbia posted a blog post

Former President Trump?

When was this article written? It is attributed to Victor Davis Hanson. He is a Fellow at Hoover…See More
Sep 22

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted