https://ncase.me/crowds/ is what got me thinking about this originally, supposedly based on prior research. It's a bit long and dramatic, so to summarize... They mathematically modeled complex ideas spreading only if they pass a threshold, % of people you know who hold them. Too many connections creates a noise problem for complex ideas, but allows simple ideas to thrive. Simple ideas aren't always bad, but they tend to be, like rage. Too few is also an issue, so there's a sweet spot.

Obviously not proof of anything cause it's only a model, but I agree with the theory. Yes FB did go down the toilet with the algo feed, maybe Twitter too. So this is how I judge social networks now.