IT AFFECTS US OFFLINE, TOO
The Problem With Social Media Platforms That Reward ‘Engagement’
Why you see so many posts, tweets, and stories that don’t sync with your values
A cascade of recent stories has described an alarming paradox: Social media platforms were supposed to bring us together but are driving us apart.
A good, brief summary of why this is happening has come from Tristan Harris, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology and co-host of the podcast Your Undivided Attention, in the January 30/February 6, 2023, issue of Time magazine. Time taken it offline, but here’s a hinge of Harris’ argument:
“Cooperation, the thing we need most to solve big problems in the world, is being collapsed by the thing that promised to connect us and bring us closer together: social media. The problem is that social connection isn’t actually the business model — ‘engagement’ is.
“Social media platforms (TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and more) make choices to show us — the users — the content that is most ‘engaging.’ Unfortunately, what is most engaging isn’t always aligned with what we value. What gets the most engagement — follows, shares, and comments — are the fights, the takedowns, and proverbial car crashes we can’t take…
