Poll of the Day > Im surprised people still believe stuff from Facebook

(+) Yeah! (+)

CoWorker saw something on Facebook about next weeks solar eclipse will cause blackout outs and cause other issues with telecommunications. She fucking believed it. Like come on, use your head.

Some people on earth still live in leaf huts!

Ogurisama posted...

CoWorker saw something on Facebook about next weeks solar eclipse will cause blackout outs and cause other issues with telecommunications. She fucking believed it. Like come on, use your head.

People still fall for the Nigerian prince scams and believe they have to pay the IRS with Apple gift cards so I'm not really all that surprised.

I believe that people on Facebook have cats whose pictures they share. Does that count?

Facebook is full of old folk and dumb folk who comment like anyone cares anyway. I'm really down with the kids so believe everything I read on GameFAQs.

The eclipse may cause blackouts for devices that use solar power panels.

I do not believe everything from social media.

Plot twist: did you say anything? If not, I blame you.

I actually think that some people live in bubbles where the people around them are too polite to get into an argument with them, and like royalty surrounded by yes men they are victimized into being total idiots.

One time my coworker told me masks don't work because the virus can get in through your pores anyway. I calmly explained how it has to get in your lungs through water droplets. He didn't argue back and probably felt like an idiot.

My home Internet went out during the eclipse and our provider hasn't figured out what the issue is yet.

Coincidence? I think not!

Yellow posted...

One time my coworker told me masks don't work because the virus can get in through your pores anyway. I calmly explained how it has to get in your lungs through water droplets.

He's not entirely wrong, he just lacked the understanding to express the actual point or draw the correct conclusion. Airborne/droplet-borne viruses can enter the respiratory tract through the eyes (specifically via the tear ducts), so masks don't provide complete protection. There is, however, a world of difference between "don't provide complete protection" and "don't work," which is something anti-maskers seem to really struggle with.

Yellow posted...

Plot twist: did you say anything? If not, I blame you.

Very often, saying anything doesn't actually change anything for the people speaking. If they're confident enough in their opinions to broadcast them on social media, then they're unlikely to change their minds regardless of how many facts are presented to the contrary. In many cases, people actually believe their falsehoods more strongly the more is done to prove them wrong, because humans are terribly silly.

Public argument, however, often isn't about convincing the people you're arguing with. It's about convincing the gallery. People who aren't confident enough in their opinions to broadcast them publicly are a lot more likely to change their minds if given reason to, and in cases where the public's opinion is important (like the response of the general public to the worst public health crisis in a century), that means it's often worthwhile to engage even with stubborn idiots who only double down on their idiocy when challenged. It is, however, exhausting to do that all the time.

Ogurisama posted...

CoWorker saw something on Facebook about next weeks solar eclipse will cause blackout outs and cause other issues with telecommunications. She fucking believed it. Like come on, use your head.

Joke's on you, I still don't have power