Did reactions damage the internet?

[GreenTea]

Lately I'm finding myself mourning the forums I used to be on. Yet when I stop to think about it, I wonder specifically what it is that I can’t get from other adjacent platforms today. There’s the old internet nostalgia of course, much of which I find here. The banners and sparkly gifs and layout of the website. But as I think more about it, I started to feel as though the thing I miss the most was the discourse between people. That discourse is present today in Reddit or Discord, but it feels distinctly different. There’s more people and more information to view. As I thought more about it over time, I noticed how my opinions and thoughts on things were becoming increasingly swayed by upvotes or reactions.

I often find myself downvoting or upvoting people on Reddit just because others are doing the same. Now that I’ve become more aware of this, it’s easier for me to stop and think if I agree with a post or comment. But I also imagine that there are plenty of people who do the same without realizing it either. That behavior leads to the infamous Reddit echo chambers. YouTube was much the same as well where I’d often skip over heavily disliked videos.

With that being said, I don’t believe that reaction systems on social media are always bad. For example, Instagram is a platform that isn’t built around having deeper conversations, so I find its system suitable. But for text-heavy platforms, it leads to a lack of critical thinking as users aren’t encouraged to take in the responses and opinions of others. It’s easy and natural to go with the majority vote.

There are more things wrong today than reaction mechanics of course. There's everything from short form responses on Twitter, the consolidations of platforms, and more. Do you think the introduction of reactions in some form or another on every platform has ultimately hurt the internet? This is something I’ve been mulling over for a while now.

[edea]

In general, I much prefer forums' encouragement of more well-thought-out responses. I personally don't really think that's tied to reactions, though - in general, there are many types of responses I'd much rather be a reaction than a comment. Things like "this", "bet", "omg" are all reactions, and i dont have an issue with them as reactions, but as comments/repiles, they're clutter.

I think the issue stems less from reactions as a function and more from the way conversational style has shifted to aim for engagement for the algorithm which prioritizes high-volume responses with either easily relatable or controversial content. People are less inclined to properly engage with content because the moment they disengage they are immediately fed more by an algorithm. You don't need to be invested in a conversation when it's easily replacable.

There are MANY reasons that forums are still my preferred structure for communication online - but reactions, i think, are one thing I'm fine with on other platforms.

[milo]

I think that's a great distinction between Instagram and Reddit when it comes to a points system in online discourse. Things with more likes inevitably float to the top of your feed, but when it's neat pictures to look at vs a serious discussion it's less harmful to the discourse.

I think the problem lies in ranking discussion by points like Reddit does. Like you said, it leads to echo chambers and a lack of critical thinking. Forums are better for discussion since the posts are listed as they came in and it's up to you to read each one and determine your own reaction to what it said.

I think a nice middle ground is having a simple like button on posts. If you agree you can leave a like, if you disagree you can move on with your day.