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WATCH: Social media rewards 'more extreme ideas,' Washington Post technology reporter says

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This month, Congress has held hearings on the negative effects of Facebook and other social media companies--including young children.

PBS NewsHour’s Nicole Ellis on Oct. 29 spoke with Washington Post technology reporter Heather Kelly and child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Paul Weigle to unpack the risks to children and how social media rewards certain behavior.

Social media sites, including Facebook, use algorithms--computer programs--to select which posts are seen by what people. These algorithms have come under scrutiny by experts and lawmakers over how they affect behavior and public discourse.

“There’s always going to be people posting bad things and good things and the algorithm are literally deciding which of those things you view,” said Kelly.

Kelly said social media companies such as Facebook have tried to lower some “problematic content” in the algorithm. However, users are still rewarded for more engagement, including when it is “extreme."

“There’s also an incentive to get views, to get likes and comments and engagement and be a creator and I think they found you can game some of these algorithms by being way more over the top, by having more extreme ideas,” said Kelly.

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