Future Tense

Would You Join a Social Network That Only Shows Posts From Friends Who Agree With You?

Social media is all about democratization of information, free expression, and widespread sharing. It’s supposed to be a tool for getting closer to people and expanding open discourse. But that’s not always what people are looking for when they log on. Often they just want others to affirm their beliefs. That’s what JYNX is for.

The social network is a parody thought up by comedy network Above Average. On JYNX you only see posts from like-minded friends, and if you and a friend post the same thing you get jynxed! More jynxes mean a higher jynx score, which shows people how popular your opinions are, “regardless of whether they’re right or wrong.” The sketch explains:

With JYNX, you only see posts from friends who agree with your views on social issues, politics, and entertainment. … You won’t see any more updates from your slightly racist uncle unless you’re slightly racist, in which case, that’s all you’ll see!

The sketch pokes fun at the ways in which our social circles are insular and homogenous. But it also brings up real questions about what it means to mute someone on Twitter or defriend them on Facebook (excluding attempts to reduce exposure to hate speech, of course). Some social networks are largely geared at people you know, or have at least met, in real life. If the people you know have similar views to yours, your feed will largely reflect that. But some services like Google Plus and Twitter allow you to see posts from pretty much any other user. Maybe those are the forums where you can get as far away from JYNX as possible.