this post was submitted on 19 Aug 2026
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“Why do people say such atrocious things” they wonder, as they endlessly reply, retweet, screenshot and spread to other social networks, etc
Engagement is engagement
When have people not said atrocious things?
...and how could it be bad to discuss those atrocious things that were said?
Yes, Twitter makes money from engagement, engagement is big business everywhere from bars to church to parks to online meeting places. Engagement is supremely important and valuable.
yes exactly. Why do you think that is???
Human behavior is motivated by several functions, one of the most common being attention. Note that attention is not qualified or given adjectives. This is because behavioral research has shown for decades that attention is attention and serves to reinforce the behavior, thus increasing the likelihood that it continues
“Don’t feed the troll”, basically
Think about it, what does Elon (or anyone like him) get from posting nasty shit or doing hitler salutes? Notoriety. And what happens when you engage with this to label it as bad? Does he suffer? No, he is emboldened. Both financially (as you’ve mentioned) and through the function of attention based reinforcement. Someone telling you you’re a fucking piece of shit is still someone willing to give you the time of day.
However, this very basic concept is both apparently extremely difficult to understand as well as reliant on impulse control which is increasingly in short supply. Thus, we are doomed.