Social warming : the dangerous and polarising effects of social media / Charles Arthur.

Includes bibliographical references.

Prologue: the shape of the problem -- Early days: the promise and the power -- Amplification and algorithms: the watcher beneath your screen -- Outrage and scissor statements: our tribal mindset -- Worst-case scenario: how Facebook sent Myanmar haywire -- Divided vote: how social media polarises politics -- Fact to fake: how the media ecosystem collapsed -- Democracy at risk: why social media undermines elections -- Pandemic: innoculated against truth -- Regulation: cutting the problem down to size.

"An impassioned exploration of the ways in which social media has manipulated us all. Facebook didn't mean to facilitate a genocide. Twitter didn't want to be used to harass women. YouTube never planned to radicalise young men. But with billions of users, these platforms need only tweak their algorithms to generate more 'engagement'. In so doing, they bring unrest to previously settled communities and erode our relationships. Social warming has happened gradually - as a by-product of our preposterously convenient digital existence. But the gradual deterioration of our attitudes and behaviour on- and offline - this vicious cycle of anger and outrage - can be corrected. Here's how"--Publisher's description.