So I have a little complaint. Nothing substantial, but coming from a psych background, something that is very frustrating, of which I will probably write more about in the future when I have more to say. For now I just wanted to rant a little bit.
On YouTube, there is a relatively popular genre of video wherein some famous minecraft YouTuber performs a "social experiment". These videos regularly gain millions of views, exceptionally positive reactions, and in general seem to, albeit with some jokes, proport to communicate some truth regarding human nature. I hate this.
Although the comments of the video mostly compliment the video's comedy and narrative, there is all the same a number of comments that refer to it as a "simulation", as if this in some way simulates actual human behavior.
It goes without saying, Minecraft is not a good way of determining actual human behavior, in particular people playing minecraft with the intention of making an entertaining video. Of course people are going to be more violent, create more betrayals, and more cruelty. That makes for a better story, and doesn't have any real consequence. Even with permadeath on in the game, nothing bad actually happens in the real world if a player dies in-game, as no lasting harm, and no actual death , occurs. Thus, you cannot pretend that this is an accurate depiction of human behavior. Instead, this is clearly just a fun little video for entertainment, and shouldn't have the word experiment anywhere near it. So, ultimately my problem is not the existence of this content, but it being portrayed as being an experiment.
Here's a link to the video, it is very entertaining, although I really wish that the word experiment hasn't been diluted down to meaninglessness by random internet weirdos.
Video link