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Social Media and the Age of Microcomplaints (nytimes.com)

Posted by Soulskill on from the it's-what-we-do dept.

An anonymous reader writes: "Name an inequity, and it is highly likely that social media has helped call meaningful attention to it, if not started and hashtagged a movement," claims the NY Times. The article suggests people are much more willing to complain about meaningless issues now that they have a public audience. "The smartphone in particular has facilitated extemporaneous caviling. Irritations that the passage of time may have soothed can, in the moment, be immediately expressed to an audience." Further, an aggrieved social media post can lend more weight to a minor problem than the author ever intended, or than it deserved. An offhand tweet can lead to a nationwide media frenzy as people who aren't connected with a complaint's author lack perspective and emotional context for it.

6 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. Microaggressions... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    When I first read the term, I was confused. When I first read the tumblr about it, I was fluctuating between disgust and amusement.

    Now that I'm thinking about it, I think they have the term right. 1000 microaggressions makes a milliaggression, and 1000 milliaggressions form one standard aggression.
    Since most of us deal with dozens of aggressions each day, this provides a proper reference frame for just how blatantly sheltered and whiny anyone who counts microaggressions must be. Yes, all of you counting microaggressions, you can take my derision and disgust at your fragility as 1.13 milliagressions.

  2. Too many self-absorbed people by RogueWarrior65 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There are far to many people walking around in a fog of narcissism thinking that everything is about them. Take, for example, that pretentious asshat that is Bono commenting on the Paris attacks saying that the terrorists were targeting music. News flash, Bono, this isn't about you.

    1. Re:Too many self-absorbed people by thedonger · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There are too many news articles about morons getting their panties in a twist over a Christmas sweater or a red cup.

      There are far more "news" articles about people getting the panties in a twist over a Christmas cup than there are people getting their panties in a twist over a Christmas cup.

      --
      Help fight poverty: Punch a poor person.
    2. Re:Too many self-absorbed people by AmiMoJo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      TFA is flamebait. The second link is about how the media whips it up into a frenzy, not individuals. The first link is just the standard attack on millennials, who instead of complaining to their spouses complain on Twitter. The worst part is that the millennials actually have the right idea, because they get results. Companies hate having their support issues done in public, because they can't just fob the customer off or ignore them.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  3. Goes both ways by cdrudge · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Microcomplaints may make a mountain out of a mole hill, but it may also give management (or at least someone higher up the food chain) and opportunity to earn back business.

    Several years ago I ordered a mattress online at Sam's club. I waited for it to be delivered. And waited. And waited. After missing several dates it turns out that their vendor screwed up the order and it never even went into manufacturing despite being told that it had really been shipped. None of the CSRs at Sam's club or the vendor really cared about me or gave me any options other than keep waiting. Walmart Corporate got a hold of me after I posted several microcomplaints online and satisfied my situation much in my benefit within a few hours. Instead of losing my business forever (especially since a Costco just recently opened, they earned it back).

  4. Effect On Your Job by stonetony · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Social media has created a new scary norm where that "nationwide media frenzy" (mob mentality) is the prosecutor, jury, and judge and your employer's fear of reputational risk is the executioner.

    It doesn't matter if you are right or wrong. Logic doesn't apply - only perception management.

    The new, widely-embraced form of discrimination is having an opinion different than that of the mob. Our laws need to adjust to form adequate civil protections.