Rage bait
We’re also assuming that the principal, as well as other teachers with similar tendencies, was as screen-addled as the rest of us.
Text size
We’re also assuming that the principal, as well as other teachers with similar tendencies, was as screen-addled as the rest of us.
An obscure public high school principal stood accused last week of not discerning what is good from what is not. He had to make profuse abject apologies to prominent political personalities.
After his proverbial 15 minutes of social media infamy and pummeling, the Masbate high school principal — whom I won’t name as he seemed censured enough — regretted his online ridicule, since deleted, of Akbayan Representatives Chel Diokno and Percival Cendaña and social media influencer lawyer Jesus Falcis.
In his Facebook apology last Monday, the guy said he should have “exercised greater prudence, restraint and discernment… especially considering my responsibilities as a school principal.”
Despite bowing chastised, it wasn’t clear if those he rolled in excrement would pursue charges or what higher education authorities would do to him.
A news site reported that a fellow teacher of his pleaded “for compassion, fairness, and second chances,” saying that “one mistake cannot erase years of good work, service, leadership, and kindness.”
Interestingly, the fellow teacher claimed his colleague’s politics was that of a “devoted” Duterte supporter.
If true, it isn’t far-fetched that the principal’s disparaging social media post was a sort of little public ritual of partisan politics. A performance designed to signal to fellow partisans that he too was relatable and grounded enough to use the same down-to-earth language his crowd prefers — despite him being a “gatekeeper” of our educational system.
We’re also assuming that the principal, as well as other teachers with similar tendencies, was as screen-addled as the rest of us — that the same horrid digital addiction is plaguing our society’s key frontline “gatekeepers” whom we still believe should be the first to uphold our good values.
If so, it would be interesting to know more about the school principal’s Facebook account and see what kind of social media content he scrolls through and investigate also if he’s been ravaged by an avalanche of fake bots dictating his politics. Of course, that would take some doing.
Still, if there’s a possibility it would be helpful since it will answer an urgent question: Do our social media accounts feed us content that reflect our core beliefs and guiding principles?
If the question seems easy to answer, it isn’t. Largely because, as “The Conversation” newsletter puts it, recent research shows that powerful social media algorithms supplying your feeds “may be prioritizing content that clashes with your values.” In other words, posts you don’t like are used to rage bait you.
This happens “because the algorithms weigh heavily on online posts that you reply to, and social media users tend to often comment on content they take issue with than the content they agree with.”
Social media platforms, of course, use powerful attention-mining algorithms that predict posts you will likely engage with and then “use the accuracy of those predictions to tailor what they will serve you next time. Platforms use these interactions to learn their users’ tendencies.”
There are other aspects to this new research on how social media algorithms keep up with the changing times.
For now, however, it seems that what our school principal was scrolling through on his Facebook actually clashed with his values as a Duterte supporter but not with his actual values as a teacher. A far darker predicament.
Nonetheless, dark social media algorithms should not excuse the principal’s actions nor his accountability. At best, social media platforms and their reckless use of attention-mining algorithms also stand indicted.
