How Social Media REWIRES YOUR BRAIN (& Our World) w/ Max Fisher | Rich Roll Podcast

In this episode of The Rich Roll Podcast, NYT investigative reporter & 'The Chaos Machine' author Max Fisher discuss how social media is eroding our minds, driving polarization, and radically changing the way we think. To read more and peruse the full show notes, go here👉🏾bit.ly/richroll703
✌🏼🌱 - Rich
LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST
Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/rrpitunes
Spotify: bit.ly/rrpspotify
Google: bit.ly/rrpgooglepods
Meal Planner: meals.richroll.com
Voicing Change Book: richroll.com/vc
Clips Channel: / richrollpodcastclips
Newsletter: bit.ly/rollcallemail
CONNECT WITH RICH
✩ Website - richroll.com​
✩ Rich Roll Podcast - richroll.com/all-episodes/
✩ Instagram - / richroll
✩ Twitter - / richroll
✩ Facebook - / richrollfans
✩ Strava - www.strava.com/athletes/14443...
✩ Memoir: Finding Ultra - www.richroll.com/shop/books/f...
✩ Meals - meals.richroll.com​
✩ Cook - The Plantpower Way - www.richroll.com/shop/books/t...
✩ Italian! - The Plantpower Way: Italia - www.richroll.com/shop/books/t...
✩ Support - / richroll
FILMED AND EDITED BY BLAKE CURTIS & DAN DRAKE
www.blakecurtis.net/
www.dandrake333.com/
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:43 - How did Max get pulled into writing "The Chaos Machine"
00:05:09 - Polarization
00:08:15 - Jacob' the whistleblower / Impossible task of moderating FB
00:11:27 - The Problem
00:17:31 - What drives social media? Financial Model / Venture Capital
00:21:26 - The philosophy of Silicon Valley
00:26:18 - The Persuasion Lab / Chasing the Dragon
00:32:26 - How does social media rewire our behavior?
00:38:11 - Wall Street
00:38:50 - Tay - Microsoft AI run Twitter account gets radicalized
00:40:46 - How algorithms can radicalize us / GamerGate
00:47:11 - The evolution of radicalization since GamerGate
00:49:51 - What are the underlying social ills behind all this?
00:53:09 - Changing your media diet habits
00:55:44 - Dealing with misinformation
00:59:24 - Ad break - The Plantpower Meal Planner
01:01:05 - Super Posters / outrage sets Social Media norms
01:07:07 - How Anti-Vaxxers grew out of mom FB groups
01:09:05 - Anti-immigration story in Germany
01:12:22 - Qanon
01:16:34 - Most shocking thing Max learned writing the book
01:18:30 - Turn off the incentives on social media
01:25:52 - What are the parameters of free speech on social media?
01:33:09 - Social regulation
01:41:25 - Cecil the lion
01:44:57 - How to dial back the outrage? Gov't regulation?
01:51:09 - How FB meddles with other countries / Myanmar
01:53:41 - Amazon Fresh / Surveillance
01:55:26 - Breaking up Big Tech
01:58:40 - Where is it all going?
02:06:12 - KZbin's destructive influence
02:11:06 - Advice for navigating social media
02:18:26 - Closing remarks
* * * * *
NEW TO RICH?
Hi I'm Rich Roll. I'm a vegan ultra-endurance athlete, author, podcaster, public speaker & wellness evangelist. But mainly I'm a dad of four. If you want to know more, visit my website or check out these two the NY Times articles:
bit.ly/otillonyt
bit.ly/vegansglam
I LOVE MAIL! SEND IT HERE:
29617 Agoura Rd.
Agoura Hills, CA 91301
#richroll #richrollpodcast

[@solomonsfarm]

We need to have this discussion on a national level. Instead of using our energy hating each other we should put it into solving this problem. Society would be better off without social media until we figure it out.

[@francesnance9110]

Agree and add we need to have this discussion on a global level.

[@danielle7729]

I agree mostly. However, I get a lot of my information like this from KZbin. Technically KZbin is a social media right? I don’t see any kind of political issues on my KZbin feed. All I watch is Rich Roll, Andrew Huberman, Tom Bilyeu, Jordan Peterson and a few more. I also watch a lot of yoga and yoga Nidra continent. I definitely would not want that taken away.

[@solomonsfarm]

@@danielle7729 True. Like a knife, social media can be used for constructive or destructive purposes depending on how it's used. But if we are not careful, we could be watching Rich Roll and Jordan Peterson while political and tribal chaos rip our society into warring factions. How long before that's outside our doors? Then what good is any of it? I don't know the answer to this problem as it's obviously complex, but if you're driving and about to slam into a wall the best thing you can do is stop or at least slow down until you can keep a degree of control in some responsible manner.

[@danielle7729]

@@solomonsfarm I suppose you are right. I would much rather not have the other chaos going on then to fuel my own selfish desire. I could possibly obtain the same information through listening to audiobooks or reading a old-school,paper book lol we have taken KZbin off of our home TVs to try and shield our kids from seeing unnecessary things at a young age. I definitely don’t want them to feel less then by viewing other peoples lives or getting them believing things that are too far leaning one way or the other. Hopefully we can figure out a plan soon, but I don’t really see that happening in the near future.

[@gigid9606]

They want us to hate each other!

[@moniquecobb9051]

This video needs to be shared in 4 part segments in Middle, High school and college.

[@juncakarina7690]

Schools need to disappear they are propaganda machines and literally dangerous to humanity.

[@michaelhopson6342]

Social media has become like alcohol - if you don't use it people look at you differently, like you are weird for not using it.

[@sigfreed11]

I don’t drink or use social media, I feel great! I’ll happily take the weird looks. When did it become taboo to be happy and healthy? It’s a strange world we live in

[@lllllllllllll31lll]

@@sigfreed11 you watching youtube bruh

[@joshuabhujun3835]

I'm 39yrs old, living in vibrant Montréal, Canada. I don't have IG, deactivated my Facebook and I use WhatsApp and Messenger to communicate with peers and family. Just because I don't have IG, I'm automatically seen as outdated, or old or weird or extreme! So many potential dates dropped me on Bumble and Tinder for not having IG lol

[@GetUnlabeled]

@@sigfreed11 you realize that you are commenting ON social media

[@KharlHungus]

@m g I did that a year ago....I'm getting sick of youtube now. I'm going to try rumble for 2023. I don't like the obvious and selective censorship agenda.

[@s.g.e5523]

when i left high school in 2014 everyone thought i was weird for not having socials. but i always felt like i had to be someone else, idk but seeing other people thrive made me feel like i had to compete? so ive been social-less but i use youtube for education purposes.

[@robertgallagher2226]

I quit social media six months ago. Tougher than quitting cigarettes and opioids.

[@rogerc23]

You’re oh youtube.

[@1w598]

If quitting social media is tougher than quitting opiods & cigarettes, then YOU have a big ego.

[@Misslotusification]

@@1w598 Yes. The ego seeking, always seeking (hence FOMO), either to feel secure, or to inflate itself, or to get entertained.

[@TheMelloFx]

@@1w598 don’t be so naive

[@TheMelloFx]

Fear of missing out, dopamine, sense of community etc have nothing to do with ego. Having a big ego is valid but it’s not the end all be all for the billions of ppl that use social media.

[@kin.9133]

I'm not in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Tik Tok, but I spend a TON of time on KZbin.

[@Hampurosh]

Dude KZbin isn’t a social media

[@katwalkable]

​@@HampuroshEven if you use comments section? What about the feed that automatically comes to you?

[@mkkrupp2462]

@@Hampurosh I think it is. And there doesn’t seem to be much control over the comments sections….

[@meganhopkins1497]

The drug is in your head. It’s dopamine. And anything that plays on that is a drug. Yes KZbin is a little different but not really when it comes down to it. They mention KZbin’s algorithm in this episode.

[@Change_Everything]

@@Hampurosh it’s all connected. You watch a lot of KZbin and the algorithm learns what you most easily consume (which doesn’t mean most healthy) and that becomes your reality. We become a certain set of beliefs that didn’t originate from our own experience

[@ld3418]

I have watched my husband's attention span and behavior dramatically but slowly change over several years. I can never even mention these type of ideas or he gets combatively defensive. I now treat him like a toddler with a toy and everything works just fine.

[@Brandy3319]

... sounds like the relationship I have with my mom.. with my mom being the toddler... 🤣🤣

[@itzakpoelzig330]

I wonder if he realizes that you'll probably never want to sleep with him again? What healthy woman could be turned on by someone she views as a toddler? I'm sorry he devolved that way, and I hope your next husband is more mature.

[@AEO21Productions]

@@itzakpoelzig330 sometimes the adult child money maker is simply managed,, and the “toy” is.. well.. the other persons affection. This is manipulation, and unhealthy. But so common that it is a societal pest of behavior

[@manda-panda]

I'm sorry to hear that but u are not alone! This may be hard to believe bc people put on airs, but almost every married woman I know is going thru the same thing. Me? I'm in the process of divorce after 14yrs bc my husband also devolved, & I don't have time to babysit, pacify or raise a man at my age of 43. Sounds like you've worked out a good system tho, bravo, Sis!

[@Im_Really_Jesus_4real]

Your rationalising your divorce, or the next time you cheat .

[@jageo48]

It's _not only social media_ ; it's all our devices, which, separate us from the world and each other. All is *consumption* , whether images, text or prose.

[@littlepony8571]

Yes, precisely!

[@jageo48]

@@littlepony8571 Instagram makes folks hungry. Twitter makes folks angry, and Fecesbook makes folks stew-pit! hahaha

[@Misslotusification]

"One damn thing after the other." just like Eckhart Tolle points out. That's the hallmark of the ego, never being satisfied.

[@eugeniebreida1583]

@@jageo48 That’s good! Yes, hahaha : )

[@jageo48]

@@terayzea9240 I use a landline. When true friends wish to make contact if I don't, they call. With YT comments, email, etc, it's all consumption. Little personalization. It's why the lockdown mentality persisted and still does in the minds of many. The elites love this as we are both distracted and separated from each other while the rape, pillage and plunder.

[@aimhigh3701]

You don’t know what you don’t know. This is very much the case with the effects of social media and is one of the reasons why it’s taking so long for us to wrap our heads around the very obvious shifts in behaviour that social media has disproportionally contributed to. Those paying attention have been ringing alarm bells for years but unfortunately like most meaningful change it will take a lot more damage and harm to human well being before anyone is prepared to do something genuinely significant.

[@andreavanda5402]

And the way things look, by then, it may be too late.

[@joshuaobrien7034]

What is the thing you refer to as genuinely significant?? What would that be in your opinion?

[@gD-cp3cg]

I am french, I stopped my mobile phone 10 years ago now. The reason was, this little thing was starting to control a lot of free time I had before. I started to think about is it important to have one. I said to me because I have 38 years old no it is not really important to have one. You can easily live normally without it. I started and now I see a lot of people being surprised when I say I have no mobile phone but it is fine for me. I am not scare of life because I know we are here just for one life and it is ok. If I need one I just have to ask someone to share it and that is it. I have no stimulation, not entertained with my car with my bike, I am totally connected with others. I have a life perfectly organized. I work with my head, I prefer use my brain than transfer it to a machine. At the beginning it was a phone, it was fine. But when they have started to change the way of using to a smartphone, I felt something will be different. As human you lost a little bit of yourself, a bit of freedom. You do not see when you start, it is something fun. Then the machine start to run and you have to run as well...

[@k8eekatt]

Merci, bon mot

[@gD-cp3cg]

@@k8eekatt Cheers

[@noahbrown4388]

Much respect to you mon ami!! I haven’t reached there yet, but I’d like to; I hate what humanity has become

[@gD-cp3cg]

@@noahbrown4388 Thank you. It is a hard choice of course because some people know you will cut the contact. This the life when you do not follow some people, they do not want to stay in touch with you. Me I have just linkedin no more facebook, I never had instagram, tweeter, snapchat... My value of respect is high and it is the same when I buy anything. I like to say I want to give my money to people who sweat for me. It is a shape of respect. I have just finished the harvest for Eric Morgat white wine Savennières in France. It was my third time for him. I do only with him because it is on my holidays. He has 6 hectares in biodynamic. It is during 10 days, he likes to share his experience. It is really good, I do not go there to earn more money, I do because this type of guy deserve my hand. He organises the really good meal for the team at the end of the harvest. The spirit is perfect. I work otherwise in a small organic cosmetic company in Angers north west of France. We work for 97% with french small laboratory. I could earn more money to work for a big company but it is not my purpose in this life. My goal is being free and happy and to reach that, I need to have the time to do what I want when I want.

[@Pazaluz]

Was it difficult for you to quit? I'm struggling to limit my screen time..

[@Vaf20]

I recently deleted all my social media accounts. So this interview comes in handy! 😊

[@normavanhorn4351]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I listened once by myself, and am now re-listening with my husband and two teenage boys. The fact that thousands of highly educated, resourced, and incentivized adults are ruthlessly targeting us for our attention while we, in our blissful oblivion, mindlessly scroll and follow the building breadcrumbs toward their agenda, is critical information for empowered engagement. It is shocking that the largest companies and industries in the world are *targeting* us in this way, using us for their financial gain, while taking no stock of or responsibility for the cascading mental and emotional impacts of their work is shocking and appalling, especially as it relates to the most vulnerable (youngest) among us. The scale and scope of this dynamic is truly appalling. We are halfway through our listen but already seeing the world differently and having thoughtful conversations about it. THANK YOU.

[@jinglebells3016]

The algorithms keep pointing me towards Rich Roll, Dr Greger, and Tiny House Tours.

[@eugeniebreida1583]

We’re on the same trip! (and I’m keto/carni due to med condition. Why always Gregor!)

[@FOURTEEFIVE]

Dr Greger potbelly

[@gabrielaradu2970]

I'm trying to reduce my time on social media as much as possible, but I have to admit that I've found some good podcasts here on KZbin. For example, I learned so much from Andrew Huberman's podcasts, things that can help me in my daily life, or you can find people who share their stories and can be a source of inspiration for us. Algorithms can be good or bad, that's for sure. If people are looking for stupid stuffs, social media won't give them something smart, because it wouldn't be useful, profitable, and vice versa.

[@mojeanin]

I love how in-depth this episode is! Many people talk about the dangers of social media but it's rare for someone to truly understand the subject and be able to teach us about the mechanisms and real world implications.

[@valtracey6180]

This incredible conversation has opened my eyes …. I have found here the missing pieces of the puzzle, the final answer to the question ‘how and why did my son die at the age of 41 two years ago?’ The term used at the time was - ‘complications arising from his addiction to alcohol and prescribed medication’. And the label - ‘he was just another addict who died young’. When my grief turned to anger I took a deep dive in social media to try to find the truth. I had put a notice of his death on Facebook and got a very lackluster response - a few comments from family and from my friends. Nothing from his ‘friends’. Thankfully in the real world lots of his friends turned up at the funeral - they heard through word of mouth, the very real means of communication that we humans have been using for all eternity. I subsequently discovered that my son had been ‘addicted’ to Facebook. But he had created a totally false identity (not a false name). The person I found there was strong, powerful, confident and very opinionated. I’m some posts he was a bully, quite intimidating. But that wasn’t who he was in ‘real’ life. I could see that he was desperately searching for friendship, for a community he could belong to, a tribe. In real life he was highly sensitive, extremely affectionate, loved animals and would have given his life to protect any of them. But he wasn’t perfect on the outside, as a child he had been bullied often for being too soft, too small, too whatever the trend might be. From the age of 16 he began to use alcohol, initially to give him the confidence he lacked. It worked - all of a sudden he was transformed from being a shy guy on the edge, to being the ‘leader of the pack’. Under the influence he felt invincible, empowered, and at the same time became more popular. But of course the alcohol took its toll, and in between binges he became very depressed. So they prescribed medication. Then social media was created and a very sad, lonely young man, suddenly found a way to be anything he wanted to be. But it didn’t work, because initially he posed as himself, but consistently failed to get the ‘likes’ he craved. Then he switched tactics - he only posted when he was intoxicated (he was now using a cocktail of alcohol & meds to get the ‘buzz’ he needed to fuel his adapted personality). He provoked, stirred things up, argued black was white, anything that would make him feel alive. Obviously he didn’t find the friends he wanted so much. Such was his existence for the last few years of his life. He loved life more than anyone I know, but because of his deep-rooted sensitivity, could not fit in in this unreal world. I learned all that I know today from KZbin …. thanks to many many powerful conversations like this one here today, I discovered many amazing people, just like you two, who share their wealth of experience with us, freely, and help us to become enlightened about so many of the complexities of the world we live in. I couldn’t have got to where I am today without this. I really value the incredible amount of information that is available to me, and I can choose what I want to listen to. I’ve also listened to many talks, also very informative and educational, but the power of the conversation just cannot be surpassed - it is an exchange between two human beings who have had life experiences just like our own, and who also have to live in the same world we all have to live in, whether we like it or not. But we can learn from these conversations a lot about how to navigate our way to be able to live our best life, despite so many negative external forces - actually, they reveal the many more positive forces that are also there but just haven’t been highlighted. Btw - I pay a monthly subscription to KZbin as it has all I could ever need in media, meditations, music, and no ads! Thank you Rich and Max for your contribution today - and I always buy the books too, it’s great to have them to dig a little deeper into some of the topics covered, and also a great source of reference.

[@kellygarvin9006]

So sorry for the loss of your son, and your heartfelt message here broke my heart

[@valtracey6180]

@@kellygarvin9006 thank you so much for your kind words Kelly - it gives me hope that there are more ‘real’ people out there than social media would have us believe. We can spread kindness and hope just as easily as the other side can spread fear and hatred. Your comment means a lot ❤️

[@kathleendubois7128]

Terribly sorry for your bitter loss. Your son sounds like he was a special boy. My sympathy to you❤

[@valtracey6180]

@@kathleendubois7128 thank you. Still sadly missed, especially at Christmas time. ❤️

[@kathleendubois7128]

@valtracey6180 yes I can imagine it's harder now. You are a brave lady.

[@mikesimms1]

I quit FB in 2009 even though I barely used it because it just seemed like a waste of time. Since then I've lost several friends who fell into the extremist movements and conspiracy theory black holes that persist on these sites. These days most of my friends are runners, many of whom also quit social media. It's better for my own mental health, but I'm deeply concerned for the health of society at large.

[@theIdlecrane]

Fist bump, just keep running

[@bluebutterflywellness2273]

Rich, I know the temptation is to instantly reach the masses, when IMO it is more effective to create a niche, reaching the right individuals that are thinkers and the right kind of influencers. Remember that many changes were initiated by the few, but because of their convictions, eventually generated momentum. I listen to you because I don't like to be patronized with clickbait. Here I am invited into a space where I'm given the opportunity to use my intellect--a rarity in this space. Thank you! 👍🏽

[@ZenEmmRap]

Love this podcast. Always learn something new. I just deactivated my instagram account so looking forward to watching this!

[@studentaccount4354]

Never got on Instagram because of their TOS. Had Flickr but hardly go there.

[@dawn7220]

This reveals that the "love" of money truly is the root of all evil.

[@kate60]

The love of power which corrupts completely.

[@crystalrene1498]

The love of power, which equals wealth, is evil. Personal decisions are our individual power.

[@jonald32z61]

Excellent topic. But, much as we all like Rich, it is important to remember he's part of the machine too. Just like any Instagram influencer, Rich has a persona and a product that he's selling. I'm not saying this to troll. I subscribe to, and recommend, the meal planner. I have my Harry's razor and running shoes, and my OK jeans are waiting for the end of the workday. But, it's all of a piece. He's selling us a better lifestyle, but the inadequacy, the disruption inherent in the very use of these electronic items is present here too. Et en Arcadia ego.

[@Im_Really_Jesus_4real]

Exactly, max even more so, he’s selling us a story

[@micahflash]

I got off all social media over a year ago. I do not miss it at all! Great conversation. Thank you.

[@kimfroman2023]

Isn't YT social media?

[@1Know1tHurts]

@@kimfroman2023 It is. But it is not for attention and validation like many other platforms (unless you are a creator yourself).

[@kimfroman1812]

@@1Know1tHurts Oh, thanks! I wanted to feel like I had given up social media and television (and alcohol and eating out), but couldn't let go of KZbin and didn't want to be an imposter!

[@Misslotusification]

@@1Know1tHurts Nevertheless, it can become yet another rabbit hole.

[@ArtVandelayInc]

Rich, I love your videos a lot. I think they're top-notch quality. It made me happy to hear that you are choosing not to use clickbait titles and such. I highly appreciate and respect you as one of your subscribers. And I think you're right about forming an audience in the long run even if you don't use some tricks to lure the algorithm. I would love to see that you succeed even more. Thank you for all the great content.

[@keenansubramoney4920]

I treat you tube like a radio station, I pick what I wanna listen to , put my phone screen down and pretend im in the 70's , it works for me 😊

[@kimfroman2023]

I took down my tv and swore off FB in April, almost 6 months. Yesterday, my first time to swipe, just to see. Right off the bat, one of my "friends" had posted a pitbull attack video. Boom, anxiety, playing out scenarios of how I should reply. I didnt. Now I'm addicted to youtube, but feel like I'm learning things, so ...

[@BATgirl57]

Funny... although I’m not on any social media by intention, my go to for information is KZbin and Max pointed out @ 2:06:20 that they’re the worst in corrupt algorithms behavior! Appreciate Rich Roll’s integrity to not succumb to using clickbait... love this guy more all the time!☮️🌱

[@markrodrigue9503]

Bat girl you should make videos I like your point of view

[@BATgirl57]

@@markrodrigue9503 thank you for the compliment, Mark! Made my day!😎

[@felipedanielsouzadaniel9552]

beautiful conversation! freedom without education is a plane in the air without wings

[@fentin480]

This was brilliant, and I can't wait to read the book! I am one of the people whose views you won by being ethical, Rich. Thanks for keeping my faith in humanity alive.

[@patriciawallace14]

I appreciate your integrity to bring us(your tribe) truthful, factual info. I decreased my FB usage in 2016 when the environment was so toxic & eliminated toxic friends/family, left me with 10. I immediately felt calmer & less stressed. Our fragile democracy has had a lot of trauma to endure since then, my only hope is that people will wake up & shout truth to power instead of believing the lies as truth.

[@satorsatori8793]

we need to re evaluate, and re teach our values: common curtesy! tolerance! agree to disagree! loving kindness! etc. etc. and we need to re-examine our motivations! why do we believe everything they tell us? why do we go on social media? perhaps everyone should have to learn to meditate and practice it every day. our internal worlds need to change; the way we look at things....we must come from loving kindness.

[@FeralFomoTravel]

This is one of the most important conversations out there. The problem is that lots of folks don't want to believe that they arent aware, were decieved or possibly wrong about what is going on in this world today. We have to be brave enough to embrace our vulnerability and consider that no matter how smart or well informed that we are, or think we are, we can't know everything and that's ok. Life feels like a learning journey to me, so I never have to feel dumb, I just have more to learn.

[@jswisher893]

Keep having these conversations, Rich, so good

[@benjaminfargen]

Brilliant as always! Thanks to both of you for this uber-important mental health conversation. 🙌🙏

[@kirsteninwales956]

I loved this episode! Can’t wait to listen to Max’s audiobook and delve deeper into this important topic. As always, an outstanding job Rich, bringing such important matters to the fore. And I appreciate how both you and Max acknowledged your own use of social media - I can relate. Thank you for everything x

[@sweetoneo5]

Just wanted to weigh in on the conversation. I readily acknowledge that the system is built to encourage and create certain reactions and responses. Not just from an algorithmic perspective, but also in manipulating our behaviors . However it is being fed by the choices we make and our engagement. I'm about half way through the episode. And I appreciate that Max does address that how and what we engage with is a contributing factor , and it's not just the algorithm and the puppeteers in the background. From a personal experience of social media platforms: I do not consider them to be a tool of information. Maybe this is why I can understand these arguments, but wonder how they can be used in this way by others. I know it is a personal and subjective experience for each individual, as far as how it's used. I just find it perplexing when I hear how it's taken seriously as a reliable source for information. I think we curate the experience we have by what we engage with. And yes, it is also an insidious tool that knows how to push us to and fro. So I also appreciate that Max addresses having other more intentionally curated spaces. I know it's pretty much a close the barn door after the horse has escaped scenario, and I acknowledge that my personal experience is going to be different from others. But I don't think we're powerless as Rich says at one point. I appreciate these conversations and that they give me the chance to know more of experiences different from my own, so I don't think my world is the whole world.

[@madalinaserban2551]

Beautifully written. Not all people have your intelligence and awareness.

[@colleencook9149]

I’ve been trying to use less than less social media and I actually deleted the apps but the crazy thing is listening to this and listening to him talk about the apps is making me want to go and look at them 💩🤯

[@UtkarshBegiens]

I am not on IG, Twitter and Facebook because I saw the problem Polarization on these platforms. I always consume my content from KZbin mostly podcast from subscriptions section. The facts discussed in the podcast are so true. People using the social media are getting manipulated in many ways without any realization. Parting ways from social media can be really easy if your reasons are right.

[@Crisjovi1]

Loved the conversation, really important stuff. Thank you.

[@marionogueiraramos9488]

terrific interview and format! thank you

[@seanenglish6398]

There is nothing more addictive than something that ALMOST works !

[@AC-wp3ow]

Wonderful episode! It's so important to educate about big tech's power over our governments and the choices we make. Would love to see this subject discussed further with Shoshana Zuboff ! Her "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" was a massive and rather scary eye opener.

[@lisaariottiart]

This explains A LOT.

[@juncakarina7690]

The MOST important thing we need to understand is that we are IMMORTAL BEINGS who come from a place of UNCONDITIONAL LOVE delve down to have a human experience. If we could all understand this this world would change in an INSTANT ! May you all experience this TRUTH in THIS lifetime and may we all together raise this place up.

[@b.l70]

The algorithm brought me here and I'm a new subbie!

[@seitanbeatsyourmeat666]

Such a great, quality episode. You really do deserve more views than you get

[@lumiere930]

this is such an important discussion. i have shared it with pretty much everyone i know and i hope it wakes some people up to the fact that they are being manipulated by social media even if they do not realise it

[@Qanwaz100]

Can't thank you more Rich for this truly vital topic. I'm humble for this talk from Fish. Love from Pakistan!❤️

[@richg2881]

I think this conclusion about social media and smart phones is obvious. But then I was born in 1938, before even television.

[@itzakpoelzig330]

No, it felt obvious to me too, when I was in high school in the late nineties. Cell phones weren't even "smart" yet, but they already seemed insidious to me.

[@gabrielab]

Maybe clickbait titles bring more people to some podcast, but there is also an audience who is embarrassed of sharing those, because they seem cheap and sensationalistic This conversation was very interesting! Thanks

[@nathanocallaghan2962]

Looking forward to the watch, thank you

[@mariamurmis4915]

Thank you for this interview. Mind opening and mind blowing.

[@blissbrain]

Fantastic talk. You at one time asserted that social media didn't make depression, but only exploited it to get more 'watch time' (and subsequent ad revenue). I would challenge that politely and respectfully, asserting that much social media algorithms go a long way to create depression just like all other dopamine driven drugs do. Peace.

[@anewagora]

Many of us have sharp edges on us from the impact of internet and the culture war. Sometimes I just have no idea and someone gets offended or disgusted by something I say, or utterly baffled. And I just can't keep up. We're in different worlds. Many Matrixes out here. It's sanity-restoring to take the hard path and interact with many people in person. And most importantly, prioritize anyone that is grounded and well-rounded. It helps.

[@sunflower-oo1ff]

wow... I will definitely watch this...but not just right now... ;) Thanks Rich, you're awesome, this is episode is great and badly needed .

[@hannahsheehan1013]

Great interview. Can't wait to read this book!

[@coriandermylovelypup]

Thank you.

[@monikapandey8792]

Loved your reply regarding KZbin usage..value and principles are more important respect for you Roll😇✨️n yes I always listen to your podcasts on KZbin

[@smmlf676]

Oh my! Thank you for this podcast.

[@julieelle1682]

That was absolutely amazing info, thank you Max and Rich

[@mathieuforte7250]

This was a fascinating talk. Thank you for this.

[@marcelasvirbelovakuziakova7517]

Thank you, brilliant, greatful for people like you 👌❤️❤️

[@xikano8573]

Time for us to introduce the air gap and bring back the face to face dialogue. I also appreciate your integrity Rich, thx for the eye opening interview!

[@TechOutAdam]

KZbin IS social media too. Podcasts ARE social media. It's not the tool, it's how you use the tool and the value you bring.

[@joshuaobrien7034]

All true.. but I think the point is that just as any addiction, it is not easy to curb once you are in it's throws. This is easily seen by observing the massive shifts in behavior in the past 20 years from the masses..

[@jJust_NO_]

social media sort of intensifies whats already in your interest bucket. i like youtube, i can pick and choose. in other digital platforms like facebook or instagram, its drowning and draining. in youtube i can educate and learn..

[@lucianowillemse8244]

@@jJust_NO_ True but remember there is also a thing called an information addiction.

[@markrodrigue9503]

Electronics in general games TV shows social gathering sites etc your brain have different connection with human touch and reading a physical books the fight or flight part of brain is triggered with electronics studies in Europe been saying this for decades

[@pokepress]

Podcast directories tend to have less aggressive recommendation algorithms, which I think helps.

[@deborahjaffe]

I could never get into social media. I force myself onto Instagram because I’m a photographer and people say I need to do it to get work. I never feel good even after just a minute on the platform. I despise Facebook and since Instagram is owned by Facebook I really would love to get off of it. I also don’t shop online. I love deep diving into history, learning from C-SPAN videos and interviews on KZbin. Maybe I’ll have enough guts to quit Instagram. The sad thing is I used to shoot for magazines, but now all my work is made for social media, websites and sometimes magazines, which have mostly gone only online.

[@itzakpoelzig330]

Yeah, it's always been a bit of a mystery to me how people can enjoy social media, let alone get addicted to it. It feels bad! But then again, I guess there are people who are addicted to pulling out their own eyelashes and picking at their cuticles and stuff...? Who knows.

[@KReneeNYC]

excellent conversations 🔥

[@mariaavinafranco8046]

Good food for thought, thanks

[@jessepratt6525]

Brilliant episode.

[@stefaniekeenan7729]

One of the most important podcasts you've ever done Rich. Thx Man.

[@slowpainful]

I am 32 minutes into this podcast - superb production values, by the way, and one of the most intelligent conversations I've engaged with in I don't know how long, it's like a glass of pure water instead of silt - and 1. becoming very discouraged about the future of humanity and 2. trying to resist the desire to knock on my roommate's door, behind which he spends 100% of his waking hours on his phone, including during meals, force his eyelids open like they do in "A Clockwork Orange" and make him watch this. I'll probably suppress # 2. Oh, wait - sorry need to check my Twitter feed... all kidding aside, this is what online discourse should look like. If I ever do a podcast, this is the model. I'm old, however, I regularly lament short attention spans and illiteracy, so, I'm due for the trash heap any day now. What have we done...?

[@stumckhall]

I am SO NOT disappointed in you Rich! 😜 thanks for bringing the truth brother!

[@BroGilbert]

Incredible interview.

[@chartersmailinggroupinc6792]

Excellent Podcast -- would love to see you interview Katherine Eban.

[@kentnoble8434]

This show is on the internet. Who decides what “social media” is positive?

[@profe3330]

Yeah. I'm finding this whole conversation, calm and urbane as it seems on the surface, to be quite self serving. OTHER PEOPLE are manipulated into holding stupid, wrong-headed, "radical" ideas that need to be suppressed, while bland, semi-educated Centrism should be pressed into people's heads for their own good. Is this really the best solution to the problems raised by technology?

[@mitchlauner9355]

I'm relieved to know I'm not alone

[@maril1379]

Social media is a blessing and a curse.

[@EvoraGT430]

More of the latter, though.

[@nikkihobson5632]

For the record, I really enjoyed Gray Man and I liked the book, too.

[@x0PhantomZeus0x]

Found you through the algorithm 😳

[@samdash3216]

Talking about the problems of social media ON social media. Talking about the irony.

[@marta_malinowska791]

Much needed ♥️

[@reneespring834]

So I just switched my phone to grayscale. So not fun. :( My hobby is gardening and most of everything I follow are flower accounts on social media. This might not be the solution for me.

[@trevorbissett1405]

A youtube video that provides a compelling argument to quit youtube

[@teganchappell8501]

Time to teach this in school

[@MG-og5gf]

"It's hard to imagine that here. Right now." "You think so?" "I don't know!"

[@b.b_is_here5810]

Got rid of all my social bar youtube ten years ago. My friends and workmates literally laughed at me for being a weirdo. I recognized how bad it was for my mental health let alone for misinformation and fuelling of hatred. No matter what political side I was on in the past I could also recognize the propaganda spit onto me from all sides which in retrospect turned out to be based on half truths and aimed at destroying the credibility to right,left and centralist parties as well. I think it can be a positive and powerful tool for learning but first you have to learnt to filter out the chaos. I use youtube for skill sharing and listening to music. Now everyone is jumping on the bandwagon and deleting social apps,suddenly it is the smart thing to do. I think it seeped into outlr everyday life so much, and when it comes to this sort of powerful tech, we should be way quicker in recognizing the negative sides to these things. Isn't that how we survived as a species?

[@jcszot]

It’s destroyed our social / inter personal skills on ALL LEVELS! Everything from etiquette, dating and common courtesy. It’s corroding our children right out of the womb. It’s done more harm than good.

[@braedansings3042]

Tik Tok , 1000x more powerful among GenZ than any social media before.

[@SallyFrancis]

Brilliant ....

[@Textras]

Change is coming folks 😜

[@emmahonkanen4572]

I have to buy the book

[@dezinerg]

Natasha Dow Schüll wrote a book called Addiction By Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas. Curious if it was referenced in this book.

[@KoolT]

36:00 your emotional balance changes

[@lynne5322]

Is this show & shows like it a whole-wheat slice of social media? Not trolling...just asking. (P.S I really do love & respect Rich Roll.)

[@GaynorOFlynn]

Brilliant thanks... just may want to check out Spotify's business model as doesn't quite make the indie composers as happy as the users.... Think when we look at he behaviour of big tech we need to look holistically as greed and a lack of transparency around greedy business practice is really at the core of all

[@erikavaleries]

Facebook groups were ruined by trolls, Instagram was ruined by a friend's boyfriend trying to flirt with me in DMs, and I couldn't figure out Twitter or how to enjoy talking to thousands of strangers. It all became zombie scrolling & a public competition for popularity or fighting. Horrible.

[@dezinerg]

A couple things don't get discussed enough: 1. The right to self-determination and a certain level of freedom from algorithms, and 2. The line between using behavioral and psychological signals for profit gains and our right to privacy of our own health data, which includes our own psychological profile. I feel like certain aspects of our online behavior should be considered health data and be protected by HIPPA and be unusable for commercial gain.

[@zayvra]

I remember yrs of only forums, newsfeeds, & only site comments. There were those super-powered techies into morgs, crypts, & Lynx. A few youtube mavericks during the mid 2000's. Online is mainstream entertainment now, yet the TV set is still popular. We still have to type a bunch online, and not everyone likes to type. One day talk-to-type will be the norm & it will blast with even more online users ... Problematic, because vocalization can be so curse. I like the writer brain in-use more so.

[@darrisnelson5223]

I pretty much stopped using FB when COVID hit. People I thought were reasonable humans spewed hateful things when someone disagrees. I’ve not had a TV since 1989 because I did not want the distraction. I do not use Twitter. At times I find myself mindlessly scrolling IG . Afterwards I feel terrible. I got your book. It’s nit just young men…Social media is definitely hurting my marriage…connection with my husband. I hope this book doesn’t focus on one political group because we know that both sides are fully involved.

[@brenda44414]

I haven't deleted my FB but I don't post, like or comment. I rarely look at it because I started paying attention to how it makes me feel when I do. I feel triggered constantly. That people are very rude and uncaring. That we have lost our way. This last election really did it and I realized that many of my so called friends I really didn't like what I saw in them. Now that I'm not on it I've noticed some new people I've met at work literally are parroting what they read on Facebook and totally influenced by it.

[@JesM94]

just ordered the book!

[@panes840]

Yes, this is important and it needs to be talked about definitely but, taking yourself away entirely from social media is not the answer, that's how I feel. For example, I found Rich Roll and his media platforms highly beneficial. I have accessed amazing courses on line now, I have made amazing connections and friendships. The question and problem is knowledge management. Whether information is pushed at us or pulled by us and to whom, where and when. Because if adilts are struggling, the children are REALLY sufferingwithout their understanding of just how!!!! The protection children receive from social media and services shpuld not be the sole responsibility of parents. The fact that kids can get access to all sirts of under age stuff via tik tok, instagram regardless of what the parent puts in place is just utterly mind blowing. My kids found out stuff I didn't know until I was in my early twenties let alone 18. Horrific stuff and thats with us putting in parental blocks and controls on ALL devices bectgat TV, phones, you name it. Because people can hide behind screens , they are delving into dark places which would otherwise be shunned and frowned upon by society at large, so,,,,,, its easier to be fuelled, groomed and enlightened by stuff that even as adults should be abstained from. But thisxus where human rights starts to play a role, people see it as their right to do x, to say y and land up executing z! I think the human rights act should be replaced with a human responsibility act and that way, everyone has responsibility to take care of themselves and to take care of others. This includes companies too. What a wonderful world that would be. One of compassion than comparison and carnage. So, the degree of autonomy and empowerment to either have information pulled and pushed needs to be addressed. The choice to have information pushed or pulled. That's where it needs to start and from there other associated issues with solutions will follow. And whether you use social media or not, our biggest problem is the lure of technology. When televisions were invented everyone spent more time in front of them (think Christmas is basically for some folks a fancy roast dinner, opening presents we all don't really need and watching movies and dramas) computers the same, the fact we have ipads and phones just make access to information EASIER. The pull towards the next best TV, PC, phone on the market is also where society needs a raincheck. The cost of these gadgets astronomical but people by them so way, some how as a status symbol. Its all rather sad.

[@wrongIQ]

Th e talk seems serious. At the same time I have a strong belief, that everything that you describe as "addictive and evil" in the social platforms IS the very reason why they are so big. So all the solutions you may want to try to make them less addictive will simply kill those platforms. One may say "at least we can try", ok... try to try will be my answer