Social networks, according to a study published in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,” can constitute a threat to human civilisation.
As many as 17 researchers from a variety of fields, including biology, psychology, neuroscience, and climate science, suggest that the study of the large-scale influence of technology in society should be treated as a “crisis discipline” by academia.
“Collective behaviour provides a framework for understanding how individuals generate and share knowledge, resulting in group actions and attributes. “In humans, information flows were shaped by natural selection at first, but are now more structured by developing communication technologies,” the research stated.
According to the report, larger and more complicated social networks can now send high-fidelity data over long distances at a reasonable cost. “The digital age and the rise of social media have expedited changes in our social systems, with poorly understood functional repercussions,” it said. “This knowledge gap is the fundamental challenge to scientific advancement, democracy, and efforts to address global crises.”
The researchers propose that the study of collective behaviour, as well as medicine, conservation, and climate science, must develop a “crisis discipline.”
