I left Twitter a year ago. My mood instantly lifted. I also don’t use Facebook. I see the way Facebook in particular has affected relationships. There does need to be some sort of labelling and ultimately education. I would equally say that the platforms need to be held responsible financially with big penalties. FB doesn’t seem to be able to control the amount of hate spread through its platform. it seems as if they don’t want to as all attention is attention for the platform.
Your absolutely right Simon newspaper can lie but it’s not on the same level as twitter I’m more saying people give the same level of trust to twitter as they do newspapers
I am in Belfast and argued with a mate all last night. He was out protesting to stop the boats but the only boats being stopped from coming to Belfast will be ones with tourists on them, I have never heard of a dinghy from France making it this far !!
It sprang from the BBC and Sky in the 90's with Farage promotion/financing and has evolved into this mess. They constantly invited the right of right (supposed alternate view) onto every political programme and press preview shows.
Toxic social media is just a reflection of our toxic politics. The toxicity is our government(s) effort to avoid their primary responsibility, which is caring for its people.
If that's the message you're fed all day from social media, that's how the world will look. Don't believe me? Quit social media and see how you feel after 5 days. You won't go back.
I've stopped using FB (the only one I did use) and haven't missed it at all. The social media companies must stop prioritising profits above morality and decency.
Ive personally never had any social media connectivity & don't regret it one bit, however not having any of those apps is becoming difficult to book "stuff" & info for events is becoming harder to come by almost pushing people in to social media trends. I agree, education is the only way to slow down this toxicity. Keep up the good & thanks for sharing.
There's a number of things I can agree with you on, preferably from some incidents in my teenage years. I grew up with a lot of insecurities and went to a subpar school where they didn't fully explain the negative impacts of SM or how to stop blindly believing everything you're seeing, I also ended up in a SM addiction when I was going through such a horrendous time where I was literally losing everything. So yes, I do think there needs to be more work on these sort of things, better education and possible warnings would be a start, but I have also since found a number of ways to resolve my previous issue by finding more creative things to do in the day.
@@vanmantalks I will do anything creative for my mindset: reading a book, going out somewhere, learn a riff, make something or learn/expand on something that is new or unfamiliar to me. Really, I probably have a list as long as my arm of all the creative things I do, but those are the most prominent examples I like to do when getting away from screens.
Perhaps we need a rating system for media, like the hygiene standards for restaurants. GB Nonsense and Tosh TV would get a negative rating. And a mental health warning.
Wouldn’t be as effective as you’d hope. As there is no monetary exchange. People that are usually addicted to sugary foods, cigarettes and alcohol most often come from lower economic backgrounds. Having a limited budget is more of a deterrent to obtaining these products than food hygiene ratings and health risk labels. Yet they still buy them, usually the cheapest options available to them. Social media is practically free. And everybody in your community is using it so misinformation can get spoken both around you in person and shown to you online, further confirming your biases. I think government regulation of social media companies would be better. Though are we ready to lose a small piece of our freedom and liberties for the sake of better protections online?
@@Chevy-jordan It was more of a quip than a practical suggestion. Though a fact check rating isn't a bad idea. A colour code, with orange meaning unreliable source.
@@Geffo555this is the problem though. Who defined what is true? I think people need to grow up and accept that some people believe different things...it is NOT a problem
I think a lot of people are really fed up with their lives, perhaps hate their jobs and doom scrolling is all they've got. This whole "dopamine" subject is probably more complex than we normal people talking about it really understand ... but arguing about stuff on social media seems to fill a hole in peoples lives, rather than make them happier. Life is harsh and people try to numb themselves.
I don't think Social Media is the problem per se. I think social media just represents the complete lack of critical thinking apparent in our society. So it's a bit like blaming a light for illuminating an already existing problem.
Yes - this is spot-on. There is potential for a proper debate - an exploration - but it gets hijacked by idiots shouting from the gallery. There are so many urban myths out there - they just parrot them and it's end of story. It's those who shout the loudest, who think they are right. Reference Brexit etc.
I agree about a general lack of critical thinking but there is something else quite insidious about social media that is not always fully appreciated. Recent psychological studies are showing that we humans seem to find it extremely hard to resist clicking on things that either make us angry or make us laugh. Social media algorithms have figured this out and in order to maximise their ad revenues it means they are promoting a far higher proportion of negative stimulus into their users feeds than any person would ever experience in normal interactions with the "Real World".
If your of a certain age born upto the 1980s .those adults didn't grow up with Internet & social media. You had to phone or knock on your mates door to see if they coming out to play 😅. Now Internet is here hard. Those adults are not prepared for the social media apocalypse. Stay safe and try to educate those social media addicts. ✌️
I started using Facebook at the beginning and stopped using it after less than 2 weeks.I could see so much negativity back then and it has got much worse.
Certainly education may help, 110%. Verify everything and learn to understand ourselves emotionally. Unfortunately as with the tabloids lots of people struggle to ignore the barking dogs on social media. Good luck 🙏
I don't do SM at all (oldie) - But even watching YT is a thing. I sometimes comment and am intrigued how replies will just kinda 'de-bunk' the point being made - y'know - by just talking BS rather than a proper counter argument. We've all seen that - trolls - etc. When you disagree with someone 'down the pub' it is just more civilised. I am surrounded by people who disagree with me on politics - surrouinded by 'em - but we don't beat each other up and I don't fear for my safety. I think it would be a start to tackle anonymity - I don't want to get a reply from a string of numbers or mollythedog etc. Having said that - there are plenty of extreme posts on YT, and the algorithms are so bad that the only solution is to clear the 'history file' on a regular basis !
Aww man, I can relate, I also have got a family member that has been pulled into the reform party Death-Star, the lotus-eaters, twitter addiction as well. gone are the days he stood up for the England footballer who was a victim of that racist attack back in 2019 in Bulgaria.
Totally agree. I start watching political stuff in the UK and then US - then dog and cat videos and film clips and before I know it 3 hours has gone by. Doing it now in fact...If social media posts include negative and hate images or language it should be labelled with a propaganda label and show the point of origin. Platforms need to be more legally accountable too.
@@vanmantalks Yes, I've been aware for a long time that I'm addicted to youtube. It has waned a bit since Labour got in because I don't feel i have to keep an eagle eye on the Tory loons - but looks like I was wrong there.
Ive deleted tweeter, im following aload of stuff that hasnt got the hate attached to it, but yet all that i get notifications about and on my feed is hate, lies and stuff i dont follow.
Context is so so important and outside of TH-cam, you never see this on social media. Literally everything is based on feelings not facts and that can be quite dangerous for a stable society.
Crucial point: the more activity you generate in the comments on X, the more you can get paid. This is part of what’s driving everyone to the extreme. If they don’t say something utterly ridiculous, they won’t get the attention they need to make the kind of £ they want. (Also, brilliant video as usual!)
there is one feature of social media that we do not use (or do not force the owners to use) and that is they know exactly who read a post and if they deemed a post "untrue" they could send the fact correction to everyone who read it. a lot more precise than any correction in a newspaper or a TV broadcast.
Social media is the modern equivalent of medieval village gossip, rapidly spreading information-often unverified and sensationalized-while shaping public perception, creating echo chambers, and enabling anonymity that leads to harmful rhetoric and real-world consequences such as the recent UK riots. Just as gossip fuels misunderstandings and conflict in small communities, social media exacerbates divisions and incites violence on a much larger scale.
I think you have a point for sure. As an old guy I got into social media when I got my first smart mobile. I began to follow hobby interests but as the Brexit deadline neared I became hooked into politics when I became aware that the main stream media were not giving me a balanced outlook on politics. I only follow TH-cam. I've never been better educated on what's going on in the political scene. The algorithm feeds me more and more of what it predicts I want. So on the one hand I'm not into tik tok or Instagram or Twitter. You make a very hood point. For me being able to sort out the truth from the lies on t.v. news can only be done with access to a socialist TH-cam news like Navra Media. By watching right wing media on t.v. and left wing media on TH-cam I feel I can come to a balanced view
Hello Van. Firstly I would like to say that I do not hate you. I think that you are a warm, wise and wonderful human being. Re hating, if governments made this country's people wealthier, better educated and generally valued the difference in society would be breathtaking. Re social media, I read somewhere (probably on social media) that the whole point of it was to harvest millions of peoples details and flog the info to whoever would pay them for it. Nice! Well, take care and see in the next vlog.
I don't know what the answer is, or even if there is one, but I would say if you have a relative or a friend that's lost their grip on reality due to GB News and social media, have a word with them, see if you can gently bring them around to real life and the power of logical thinking, you never know it might work.
The problem with social media is that it’s driven by algorithms. You click on one post out of curiosity and then find that your entire feed is flooded with similar postings. Worse still, and I’m not sure if this is true or not but I’ve heard this being discussed on one TH-cam channel, is that whoever owns each social media platform, has the power to control the algorithms, leaving a few very wealthy and powerful individuals with the power to influence society through algorithms.
I listen to a few people on TH-cam. Some political sites like this. I watch sustainability and sewing/craft related sites. Them i occasionally watch some hair fails, tattoo fails mainly to chill to. However, i isually listen whilst driving, cleaning, cooking as background noise. I don't watch tv, read newspapers or listen to the radio.
Now I'm not in fan of authoritarianism (hot take 😄) but I think I'm in favour of the government going full on CCP and shutting it all down. The damage social media has done and continues to do to society is unbelievable.
I'm an admin in a telegram group that sells and provides support for shall we say "digital services" and i have noticed that it's become far more toxic in there over the last few months to a year. We never used to censor much, but the owner of the group and i as admin had to have a chat about political and political adjacent posts and discussions in our group and it was decided that we would start deleting anything that was considered "controversial" because the group has over 2000 members from all over the world of all colours and creeds. Because of this, the chat/banter in the group has fallen off a cliff because that's all anyone wants to talk about. The amount of far right and brain dead takes that i was initially deleting was ridiculous. Here's a recent example "i watched that Tommy Robinson documentary last night, can't believe how the British government have stitched him up and something needs to be done about it". Yes the self made Tommy Robinson documentary. This is a guy that's in his 60s (London born and bred)and is living out his retirement in Thailand while learning how to grow weed. Also the irony of him supporting Tommy Robinson while he's an immigrant in Thailand was totally lost on him. All dealings i've had with him personally have been great and he's always been nice and never showed any form of extreme nationalism or xenophobia before. But then again, he thinks i am a white, born and bred English man and i also control the digital services he purchased 🙈
I sympathise with the guy who jumped the light he saw green arrow light out of the corner of his eye .. his brain glitches "green means go" 😅 I've been there 🙄🙄
I think some regulation is required definitely mate. To be honest my personal life isn't on social media I purely use social media to promote my TH-cam channel that's it. Yes some warnings would probably be a good idea.
Social media will never get a warning sign or anything of the sort because it's functioning exactly how they want it to. It gives a platform to spread whatever rhetoric they want, it causes divide between people that should be standing together. Keeping us docile and happy scrolling for hours watching cat videos. It's exactly what the people at the top want. If we weren't we might actually do something like revolt.
I like Twitter but I can see what you mean. Instead of finger pointing, maybe a sensible discussion between various leaders of countries, where that social media is actively used, and the directors of the social media companies. How to regulate an adult though? Are we not suppose to be responsible for ourselves. My sister is on Facebook, obsessed with marketplace, and that Bill Gates should stop messing with the weather. What do you say to that.
Well that was cool like chilling with a mate , thanks , regarding social media it’s a bit like right time wrong place or vice versa ? Many years ago I was in a bad place all going wrong relationship fecked , made redundant , mortgage rate crushing what’s left ! There was no social media back then , so I found solace in pumping huge amounts of money i couldn’t afford into a fruit machine ! Look I know this doesn’t make much sense but it does to me , at some time or another we all need a bit of help if it’s not there we fall for some shit or other , maybe the snake oil salesman is right ? I don’t think so , wish I could get my money back 😉
I quit facebook at the end of last year, find it a totally toxic environment, people throw abuse at one another and moan behind the safety of a screen, its almost like dehumanising people, I had enough, instagram i got rid of earlier because of just how many scammers there were on there and i assume still is. I feel alot better for it to to be honest, negativity breeds negativity and our time is too valuable to be scrolling through a phone screen. I still use youtube (obviously) but i dont really count this platform as the same as other social media platform, the social aspect is more limited especially just watching on your tv, i meen yeah even comment sections here can get very toxic but because of the long form video style the comments are less of a focus in a strange way
I agree re doom scrolling. There are some things I won't watch. Animals in crisis (I just can't) and war refugees (again, I just can't). I know I spend far too much time on line, nowhere near as much on fb and twitter. I pretty much use twitter to post my videos to, as well as threads. I spend very little time on threads. Tiktok, I follow who I want to and mostly, it's scenic, motivational and educational. I see more ads on fb now, than I do posts. But, it is addictive. Go to the loo, take your phone etc... I've often thought I wish we didn't have these things. I'm Gen X and grew up without a phone. When cell phones first came out, I didn't want one. Then, I didn't want an android... And yet here I am. 🤷 I don't know what the solution is. Strangely, while watching this video, I was doing a survey, about Internet usage. But, everything is done through the phone these days. I hate e-tickets for gigs. I miss paper tickets. But, it saves the trees.... Dilemma! Stay Blessed 🖤
Yes!! I completely agree, I used to collect all my gig tickets, still have them in a box somewhere. But I have also traveled up to London and left my ticket at home so do also appreciate the convenience of having it on your phone
@@One-Gothfeeder. it was years ago I was about 17 still got to the gig, I realised on the train halfway to London so got off went home and caught a later train
Your channel should have a warning. "Bloke drives a van for a living and talks sense". Anyway, it isn't Twitter, it is the social network X, formerly known as Shite.
The solution is banning algorithmic social media feeds. Go back to the "most recent" posts from people you actually follow/friend. I'm 26 and don't bother using social media for anything other than communication now.
Yeah just looking at the suggested videos now on the RH side of my screen, I don't know which ones are worth looking at in terms of their view-point. The last thing I want to do is click on them to find out that I'm just adding to the popularity of some far right BS. Be nice if they had something to say whether it was right-wing nutters or not.
A more thoughtful video today but I have just read that there has been a five-fold increase in threats to muslims (such as r**e and d***h threats) and a threefold increase in hate crime incidents. What do you now think of your decision to go ahead and put out a video a few days ago (before the murder suspect was named) rabbiting on about ‘extreme mosques’ and ‘extreme Islam’? Do you not think you’re part of the problem?
@@keithparker1346 He seems completely unaware that he has been infected by the anti-Islam stuff his older relative is exposed to. Seems to think it’s a problem purely to do with the older generation - but I’m much older than him. And I don’t know if he’s noticed the ages of the men and kids who are causing so much mayhem on the streets.
@@keithparker1346 If I remember correctly, in this video he was talking about the problem being older folks needing to be educated about social media. My point is that the problem is not just older folks. Van Man himself put out a video following the narrative that the murders in Southport were somehow something to do with ‘extreme mosques’. Now why did he do that? (It was the video entitled will there be more riots (or similar) and it was at about 6:30 onwards.) This problem is not an age thing - that’s just nonsense.
I left Twitter a year ago. My mood instantly lifted. I also don’t use Facebook. I see the way Facebook in particular has affected relationships. There does need to be some sort of labelling and ultimately education. I would equally say that the platforms need to be held responsible financially with big penalties. FB doesn’t seem to be able to control the amount of hate spread through its platform. it seems as if they don’t want to as all attention is attention for the platform.
Very good point, I think they should be heavily taxed just like tobacco and alcohol
I'm 67 and realised about 50 years ago that newspapers lied. I don't think it's necessarily an age thing.
Your absolutely right Simon newspaper can lie but it’s not on the same level as twitter
I’m more saying people give the same level of trust to twitter as they do newspapers
@@vanmantalksTwitter is full of negativity and some people seem to think everyone is out to get them.
A have been clean from Facebook for nearly 7yrs now.
Best thing i ever did.
Any relapses? 😂
I don't even go on face book anymore or any of it for that matter I'm not keen on brain washing
Yes! I seem to be addicted to TH-cam
TH-cam is a unique social media platform as it can be used without the social aspect by just watching it on your tv
me to
I am in Belfast and argued with a mate all last night. He was out protesting to stop the boats but the only boats being stopped from coming to Belfast will be ones with tourists on them, I have never heard of a dinghy from France making it this far !!
Whenever I use Twitter it's like staring into the abyss.
Too true
It sprang from the BBC and Sky in the 90's with Farage promotion/financing and has evolved into this mess. They constantly invited the right of right (supposed alternate view) onto every political programme and press preview shows.
I seem to be addicted to, men talking in vans on TH-cam.
Hahaha!! :D
Perfectly healthy addition that 👍😂
Toxic social media is just a reflection of our toxic politics.
The toxicity is our government(s) effort to avoid their primary responsibility, which is caring for its people.
If that's the message you're fed all day from social media, that's how the world will look. Don't believe me? Quit social media and see how you feel after 5 days. You won't go back.
Can tell he’s serious, not even driving ;)
😂😂 it’s true tho I can’t give a topic 100% of my attention if I’m driving
I've stopped using FB (the only one I did use) and haven't missed it at all. The social media companies must stop prioritising profits above morality and decency.
The car going through the red light is a well-known effect. You sit there wondering when you’ll get green, the cars next to you move and off you go!
Your right! I see it all the time
Ive personally never had any social media connectivity & don't regret it one bit, however not having any of those apps is becoming difficult to book "stuff" & info for events is becoming harder to come by almost pushing people in to social media trends. I agree, education is the only way to slow down this toxicity. Keep up the good & thanks for sharing.
Fair play to you Steve if you can do it great!
But it is increasingly more difficult I could not run my business without social media
There's a number of things I can agree with you on, preferably from some incidents in my teenage years. I grew up with a lot of insecurities and went to a subpar school where they didn't fully explain the negative impacts of SM or how to stop blindly believing everything you're seeing, I also ended up in a SM addiction when I was going through such a horrendous time where I was literally losing everything. So yes, I do think there needs to be more work on these sort of things, better education and possible warnings would be a start, but I have also since found a number of ways to resolve my previous issue by finding more creative things to do in the day.
What are you doing creatively? Would love to know
@@vanmantalks I will do anything creative for my mindset: reading a book, going out somewhere, learn a riff, make something or learn/expand on something that is new or unfamiliar to me. Really, I probably have a list as long as my arm of all the creative things I do, but those are the most prominent examples I like to do when getting away from screens.
Perhaps we need a rating system for media, like the hygiene standards for restaurants. GB Nonsense and Tosh TV would get a negative rating. And a mental health warning.
Wouldn’t be as effective as you’d hope. As there is no monetary exchange.
People that are usually addicted to sugary foods, cigarettes and alcohol most often come from lower economic backgrounds.
Having a limited budget is more of a deterrent to obtaining these products than food hygiene ratings and health risk labels. Yet they still buy them, usually the cheapest options available to them.
Social media is practically free. And everybody in your community is using it so misinformation can get spoken both around you in person and shown to you online, further confirming your biases.
I think government regulation of social media companies would be better. Though are we ready to lose a small piece of our freedom and liberties for the sake of better protections online?
@@Chevy-jordan It was more of a quip than a practical suggestion. Though a fact check rating isn't a bad idea. A colour code, with orange meaning unreliable source.
I really like this idea
Vote with your feet. If you don't like a channel or show....don't watch it. No need for ratings or censorship
@@Geffo555this is the problem though. Who defined what is true? I think people need to grow up and accept that some people believe different things...it is NOT a problem
I totally agree , people are so different these days . No one is relatable anymore . World is changing so fast.
Nice to see you VM ❤️
Nice to see you too Sam
I think a lot of people are really fed up with their lives, perhaps hate their jobs and doom scrolling is all they've got. This whole "dopamine" subject is probably more complex than we normal people talking about it really understand ... but arguing about stuff on social media seems to fill a hole in peoples lives, rather than make them happier.
Life is harsh and people try to numb themselves.
Social media is not the problem, the human condition is the problem...but Brits like to be pathetic and support authoritarian measures
I don't think Social Media is the problem per se. I think social media just represents the complete lack of critical thinking apparent in our society. So it's a bit like blaming a light for illuminating an already existing problem.
Yes - this is spot-on. There is potential for a proper debate - an exploration - but it gets hijacked by idiots shouting from the gallery. There are so many urban myths out there - they just parrot them and it's end of story. It's those who shout the loudest, who think they are right. Reference Brexit etc.
I agree about a general lack of critical thinking but there is something else quite insidious about social media that is not always fully appreciated.
Recent psychological studies are showing that we humans seem to find it extremely hard to resist clicking on things that either make us angry or make us laugh.
Social media algorithms have figured this out and in order to maximise their ad revenues it means they are promoting a far higher proportion of negative stimulus into their users feeds than any person would ever experience in normal interactions with the "Real World".
If your of a certain age born upto the 1980s .those adults didn't grow up with Internet & social media. You had to phone or knock on your mates door to see if they coming out to play 😅. Now Internet is here hard. Those adults are not prepared for the social media apocalypse. Stay safe and try to educate those social media addicts. ✌️
I'd love to see warning labels up but im sure Elon Musk will say it's censorship 😒
How would Elon and his ilk spread their lies. All of his posts would be marked.
I wonder if he is so free with censorship with his kids
I started using Facebook at the beginning and stopped using it after less than 2 weeks.I could see so much negativity back then and it has got much worse.
Certainly education may help, 110%.
Verify everything and learn to understand ourselves emotionally.
Unfortunately as with the tabloids lots of people struggle to ignore the barking dogs on social media.
Good luck
🙏
I don't do SM at all (oldie) - But even watching YT is a thing. I sometimes comment and am intrigued how replies will just kinda 'de-bunk' the point being made - y'know - by just talking BS rather than a proper counter argument. We've all seen that - trolls - etc. When you disagree with someone 'down the pub' it is just more civilised. I am surrounded by people who disagree with me on politics - surrouinded by 'em - but we don't beat each other up and I don't fear for my safety. I think it would be a start to tackle anonymity - I don't want to get a reply from a string of numbers or mollythedog etc. Having said that - there are plenty of extreme posts on YT, and the algorithms are so bad that the only solution is to clear the 'history file' on a regular basis !
Aww man, I can relate, I also have got a family member that has been pulled into the reform party Death-Star, the lotus-eaters, twitter addiction as well.
gone are the days he stood up for the England footballer who was a victim of that racist attack back in 2019 in Bulgaria.
Totally agree. I start watching political stuff in the UK and then US - then dog and cat videos and film clips and before I know it 3 hours has gone by. Doing it now in fact...If social media posts include negative and hate images or language it should be labelled with a propaganda label and show the point of origin. Platforms need to be more legally accountable too.
Thanks, I was doing exactly the same when I read your comment. So got up and booked holiday instead
@@andrewwitty6116where are you going?
I guess we have always had these distractions tv, old video games even reading I guess but social media seems to be way more addictive
@@vanmantalks Yes, I've been aware for a long time that I'm addicted to youtube. It has waned a bit since Labour got in because I don't feel i have to keep an eagle eye on the Tory loons - but looks like I was wrong there.
@@andrewwitty6116❤
Well said.
Thanks Graham
They should conduct the big social experiment and turn them off for a week, see what happens 😂
a month! or even several!
Have never used twitter, Facebook, or any sm, I have seen what damage it's done to friends and family.
Ive deleted tweeter, im following aload of stuff that hasnt got the hate attached to it, but yet all that i get notifications about and on my feed is hate, lies and stuff i dont follow.
Heck....I'm 75 and you're right so much of my day is spent on thinking how horrible everything is! Gotta stop that.
Education is the key 🔑
Always! 👍some adults unfortunately are not willing to learn
Context is so so important and outside of TH-cam, you never see this on social media. Literally everything is based on feelings not facts and that can be quite dangerous for a stable society.
Crucial point: the more activity you generate in the comments on X, the more you can get paid. This is part of what’s driving everyone to the extreme. If they don’t say something utterly ridiculous, they won’t get the attention they need to make the kind of £ they want. (Also, brilliant video as usual!)
there is one feature of social media that we do not use (or do not force the owners to use) and that is
they know exactly who read a post and if they deemed a post "untrue" they could send the fact correction to everyone who read it.
a lot more precise than any correction in a newspaper or a TV broadcast.
Always referred to it as anti social media. View a bit of you tube but not on fb or twitter.. sounds like im better off.
TH-cam is social media
Do you remember when Britain first started popping up on facebook
Social media is the modern equivalent of medieval village gossip, rapidly spreading information-often unverified and sensationalized-while shaping public perception, creating echo chambers, and enabling anonymity that leads to harmful rhetoric and real-world consequences such as the recent UK riots.
Just as gossip fuels misunderstandings and conflict in small communities, social media exacerbates divisions and incites violence on a much larger scale.
I think you have a point for sure. As an old guy I got into social media when I got my first smart mobile. I began to follow hobby interests but as the Brexit deadline neared I became hooked into politics when I became aware that the main stream media were not giving me a balanced outlook on politics. I only follow TH-cam. I've never been better educated on what's going on in the political scene. The algorithm feeds me more and more of what it predicts I want. So on the one hand I'm not into tik tok or Instagram or Twitter. You make a very hood point. For me being able to sort out the truth from the lies on t.v. news can only be done with access to a socialist TH-cam news like Navra Media. By watching right wing media on t.v. and left wing media on TH-cam I feel I can come to a balanced view
Hello Van. Firstly I would like to say that I do not hate you. I think that you are a warm, wise and wonderful human being.
Re hating, if governments made this country's people wealthier, better educated and generally valued the difference in society would be breathtaking.
Re social media, I read somewhere (probably on social media) that the whole point of it was to harvest millions of peoples details and flog the info to whoever would pay them for it. Nice!
Well, take care and see in the next vlog.
That's why we have context notes on X.
I don't know what the answer is, or even if there is one, but I would say if you have a relative or a friend that's lost their grip on reality due to GB News and social media, have a word with them, see if you can gently bring them around to real life and the power of logical thinking, you never know it might work.
The problem with social media is that it’s driven by algorithms. You click on one post out of curiosity and then find that your entire feed is flooded with similar postings. Worse still, and I’m not sure if this is true or not but I’ve heard this being discussed on one TH-cam channel, is that whoever owns each social media platform, has the power to control the algorithms, leaving a few very wealthy and powerful individuals with the power to influence society through algorithms.
I listen to a few people on TH-cam. Some political sites like this. I watch sustainability and sewing/craft related sites.
Them i occasionally watch some hair fails, tattoo fails mainly to chill to.
However, i isually listen whilst driving, cleaning, cooking as background noise. I don't watch tv, read newspapers or listen to the radio.
Now I'm not in fan of authoritarianism (hot take 😄) but I think I'm in favour of the government going full on CCP and shutting it all down. The damage social media has done and continues to do to society is unbelievable.
While i agree with this, if the government do shut it all down, theyll go pirate
Can TH-cam stay 😂🤞
@@vanmantalksTH-cam is social media so...no
Good idea 🤔
I'm an admin in a telegram group that sells and provides support for shall we say "digital services" and i have noticed that it's become far more toxic in there over the last few months to a year. We never used to censor much, but the owner of the group and i as admin had to have a chat about political and political adjacent posts and discussions in our group and it was decided that we would start deleting anything that was considered "controversial" because the group has over 2000 members from all over the world of all colours and creeds. Because of this, the chat/banter in the group has fallen off a cliff because that's all anyone wants to talk about. The amount of far right and brain dead takes that i was initially deleting was ridiculous. Here's a recent example "i watched that Tommy Robinson documentary last night, can't believe how the British government have stitched him up and something needs to be done about it". Yes the self made Tommy Robinson documentary. This is a guy that's in his 60s (London born and bred)and is living out his retirement in Thailand while learning how to grow weed. Also the irony of him supporting Tommy Robinson while he's an immigrant in Thailand was totally lost on him. All dealings i've had with him personally have been great and he's always been nice and never showed any form of extreme nationalism or xenophobia before. But then again, he thinks i am a white, born and bred English man and i also control the digital services he purchased 🙈
I sympathise with the guy who jumped the light he saw green arrow light out of the corner of his eye .. his brain glitches "green means go" 😅 I've been there 🙄🙄
The last few years point - that's my Mother in law to a T. She's bought into it wholesale - she has a very weird outlook on life, so utterly negative.
Just buy a motorcycle, You will have no money and time for anything else. 😂
I think some regulation is required definitely mate. To be honest my personal life isn't on social media I purely use social media to promote my TH-cam channel that's it. Yes some warnings would probably be a good idea.
People just need to find better hobbies .
Social media will never get a warning sign or anything of the sort because it's functioning exactly how they want it to. It gives a platform to spread whatever rhetoric they want, it causes divide between people that should be standing together. Keeping us docile and happy scrolling for hours watching cat videos. It's exactly what the people at the top want. If we weren't we might actually do something like revolt.
That's like blaming a road for bad drivers
@@keithparker1346 who mentioned blame?
@@PottsV1 whatever. A fucking Pikachu avatar means you're probably 10 years old or mentally 10 years old
I like Twitter but I can see what you mean. Instead of finger pointing, maybe a sensible discussion between various leaders of countries, where that social media is actively used, and the directors of the social media companies. How to regulate an adult though? Are we not suppose to be responsible for ourselves. My sister is on Facebook, obsessed with marketplace, and that Bill Gates should stop messing with the weather. What do you say to that.
Well that was cool like chilling with a mate , thanks , regarding social media it’s a bit like right time wrong place or vice versa ? Many years ago I was in a bad place all going wrong relationship fecked , made redundant , mortgage rate crushing what’s left ! There was no social media back then , so I found solace in pumping huge amounts of money i couldn’t afford into a fruit machine ! Look I know this doesn’t make much sense but it does to me , at some time or another we all need a bit of help if it’s not there we fall for some shit or other , maybe the snake oil salesman is right ? I don’t think so , wish I could get my money back 😉
I've been smoking for 20+ years.. do you think that the warnings are working?
I quit facebook at the end of last year, find it a totally toxic environment, people throw abuse at one another and moan behind the safety of a screen, its almost like dehumanising people, I had enough, instagram i got rid of earlier because of just how many scammers there were on there and i assume still is. I feel alot better for it to to be honest, negativity breeds negativity and our time is too valuable to be scrolling through a phone screen. I still use youtube (obviously) but i dont really count this platform as the same as other social media platform, the social aspect is more limited especially just watching on your tv, i meen yeah even comment sections here can get very toxic but because of the long form video style the comments are less of a focus in a strange way
I agree re doom scrolling. There are some things I won't watch. Animals in crisis (I just can't) and war refugees (again, I just can't).
I know I spend far too much time on line, nowhere near as much on fb and twitter. I pretty much use twitter to post my videos to, as well as threads. I spend very little time on threads. Tiktok, I follow who I want to and mostly, it's scenic, motivational and educational.
I see more ads on fb now, than I do posts.
But, it is addictive. Go to the loo, take your phone etc...
I've often thought I wish we didn't have these things. I'm Gen X and grew up without a phone. When cell phones first came out, I didn't want one. Then, I didn't want an android... And yet here I am. 🤷
I don't know what the solution is.
Strangely, while watching this video, I was doing a survey, about Internet usage. But, everything is done through the phone these days. I hate e-tickets for gigs. I miss paper tickets. But, it saves the trees.... Dilemma!
Stay Blessed 🖤
Yes!! I completely agree, I used to collect all my gig tickets, still have them in a box somewhere.
But I have also traveled up to London and left my ticket at home so do also appreciate the convenience of having it on your phone
@@vanmantalks that sucks! Who were you going to see?
@@One-Gothfeeder. it was years ago I was about 17 still got to the gig, I realised on the train halfway to London so got off went home and caught a later train
@@vanmantalks phew! At least you got to see them! 🖤
I think we need real ids online
A poor idea . The anonymity is one of its strengths. If nasty stuff does get posted it can be traced
Nope but it seems to be the British way to be authoritarian
Your channel should have a warning. "Bloke drives a van for a living and talks sense".
Anyway, it isn't Twitter, it is the social network X, formerly known as Shite.
i blame xbox
The solution is banning algorithmic social media feeds. Go back to the "most recent" posts from people you actually follow/friend.
I'm 26 and don't bother using social media for anything other than communication now.
What is doom scrolling??
When you can keep scrolling down almost forever to read comments or see suggestions
@@keithparker1346 so its not reading negative stuff online?
Its like spending ages scrolling a social media feed?
@@macflod basically yes...and it applies to TH-cam. I've got no idea why people think TH-cam is NOT social media
You wont need a war to destroy a country , just spread garbage on social media sit back , work done.
Yeah just looking at the suggested videos now on the RH side of my screen, I don't know which ones are worth looking at in terms of their view-point. The last thing I want to do is click on them to find out that I'm just adding to the popularity of some far right BS. Be nice if they had something to say whether it was right-wing nutters or not.
A more thoughtful video today but I have just read that there has been a five-fold increase in threats to muslims (such as r**e and d***h threats) and a threefold increase in hate crime incidents. What do you now think of your decision to go ahead and put out a video a few days ago (before the murder suspect was named) rabbiting on about ‘extreme mosques’ and ‘extreme Islam’? Do you not think you’re part of the problem?
Centrists like van Man always think they are being sensible and the voice of rationality
@@keithparker1346 He seems completely unaware that he has been infected by the anti-Islam stuff his older relative is exposed to. Seems to think it’s a problem purely to do with the older generation - but I’m much older than him. And I don’t know if he’s noticed the ages of the men and kids who are causing so much mayhem on the streets.
@@stshnie and?
@@keithparker1346 If I remember correctly, in this video he was talking about the problem being older folks needing to be educated about social media. My point is that the problem is not just older folks. Van Man himself put out a video following the narrative that the murders in Southport were somehow something to do with ‘extreme mosques’. Now why did he do that?
(It was the video entitled will there be more riots (or similar) and it was at about 6:30 onwards.)
This problem is not an age thing - that’s just nonsense.