[secede] -- social media
A few technology companies in Silicon Valley have managed to convince the world that their product is both extremely novel and positively indispensable for modern life and business. Like almost all axioms of modern society, this is a lie.
At its core, social media is an attempt to scale something that cannot scale — social interaction. Humans cannot have authentic communication with 3000 people. Attempting to do so through likes, comments, and emojis trivializes real world relationships and leads to documented increases in depression and anxiety. The more time we spend on social media, the less social we actually become.
The other great cost of social media is loss of time and focus. All worthwhile tasks require persistence and mental fortitude. If we are constantly immersed in artificial dopamine, we lose the drive to achieve things in the real world. We accomplish less and feel worse. These platforms are addictive drugs, no less destructive than alcohol or tobacco.
Social media is free because *we are the product*. Our data is valuable, and people want to harvest it. All of its putative benefits — messaging, seeing pictures of family, buying and selling in marketplaces, (approved!) political organizations, etc. — can be achieved by other, more ethical, means. Anyone who proclaims a love for freedom but uses platforms that oppose openness and independent thought is a hypocrite. Quitting social media is hard, but it is a moral imperative.