Comment by alganet

> Yet, when I step outside into the streets of New York City to grab a coffee or meet a friend for lunch, it feels downright tranquil.

I think you're in for a surprise in the next few decades.

EDIT: what am I even saying? The article comes from an UK media outlet, they should fully know by now that toxic behavior in the real world cannot be separated from media exposure. This is uncanny.

> The contrast between the online world and my daily reality has only gotten more jarring.

One or two generations immersed in primarily online activity will change your opinion about how safe the real world is from toxic behavior.

> In a paper I recently published [...]

Paywalled.

> we paid people a few dollars to unfollow the most divisive political accounts on X

For a psychology study, I fail to see how you considered the full mechanism of incentives behind their choice. If the paper was open, I would look for a control group in the study. Was there even one?

> Platforms could easily redesign their algorithms to stop promoting the most outrageous voices.

No, they can't. If you are putting your hope on that prospect, I think you are insane. It's not even about will, it cannot be done.