this post was submitted on 19 Jun 2023
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A Boring Dystopia
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I’m not discounting economic issues as a piece of this puzzle, but we also have solid research that social media is wreaking havoc on the mental health of everyone. Young people in particular. That’s also a big piece of the puzzle. Imagine how many problems would be solved if young people weren’t allowed on social media until age 18. Shit, imagine how much better the world would be if social media just didn’t exist.
I'd argue that social media isn't inherently bad. It's social media that promotes instant gratification that is bad. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok - their purpose is to make you consume more content, quicker, so they can harvest data on your likes and dislikes and stop you from thinking too hard, which makes you less likely to spend money. Social media should be about letting people talk to each other, not about glorification of celebrities.
And the former purpose is beneficial for youth - it allows one to expand their view of the world through the thoughts, views and ideas of other people, while the latter makes youths into victims.
Rage is certainly one of the issues with social media, however psychological research indicates that one of the most harmful aspects is the comparative effect. That is, comparing ourselves to what others post about their lives. Since users typically only post themselves at their best, it creates a false narrative that we are inferior. This is highly resistant to rational thought and therapy. We can tell ourselves it's not true, but our lizard brain remains unconvinced. Kids in particular are susceptible to this.
I think it would be very difficult to create a psychologically safe type of social media for kids. First, the rage algorithms need to be turned off. Second, our natural inclination to rage needs to be blunted. I'm not sure how to do that without heavy moderation. Third, there must be no possibility of comparing ourselves. This seems almost impossible, even with an anonymised network. Someone will post a picture of their new, expensive car, or house, or vacation, or computer, or an achievement of theirs.