The Social Media Reformation
Facebook isn’t just a company that needs to be broken up, its a religion in need of reform.
On an early summer day in June 2017, Mark Zuckerberg gave a speech at what was billed as the Facebook Community Summit in Chicago. The intention of the summit was to encourage the use of groups on Facebook as well as to unveil the social media platform’s new mission statement: “give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.” This new mission was a pivot from its previous goal of making the world more open and connected. The difference was subtle yet profound.
To articulate the importance of community and provide the rationale behind Facebook’s desire to pursue this new emphasis, Zuckerberg highlighted various forms of community and how they function.
“We all get meaning from our communities. Whether they’re churches, sports teams, or neighborhood groups, they give us the strength to expand our horizons and care about broader issues,” stated Zuckerberg.
In reference to trends suggesting that people are increasingly isolated and not a part of literal communities, he even went so far as to claim, “A lot of people now need to find a sense of purpose and support somewhere else.” Of course “meaningful (Facebook) communities” were the solution Mr. Zuckerberg proposed.
