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My NeoC1t1es page :3.

When we refer to platforms we are referring to large corporations that offer social platforms such as: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

When we think of a business, we think of a store with goods and services to sell, but the internet allows enormous scalability that rivals any traditional business. Since social media companies are usually "free" to use, they have to resort to other methods of making profits than subscriptions fees, like selling users' data and showing advertisements.

Behind each platform, there are entire teams of psychologists and marketers researching how to manipulate peoples' emotions and optimizing modern platforms to encourage users to keep using the app at any cost.

Also, Zuckerberg thinks you are a "dumb f***" for even using his website. So there's that.

Why shouldn't we trust what platforms tell us their intentions are?

They have admitted to and been caught lying many times, even directly to Congress.

These platforms pitch themselves as neutral technologies for "connecting people" with one another, but when you are a massively profitable publicly-traded company with a fiduciary and legal responsibility to return profits and grow the company, vague platitudes like this are worthy of suspicion.

Why should I care that my data is being sold?

It is your data and if money is made from it, you should get it, not the platform!

When we become frequent users of a big-name social media platform, we are consenting to have the platform sell personal information about our identities and behaviors. This 'data' isn't limited to the information that we used to sign up. It includes our habits of how we use the app: what we post, and what and who we interact with.

This data is fed into an AI tool that uses this data to predict your behavioral patterns, and show you relevant ads. The data itself is being used to anticipate your purchases, your thoughts, your future actions. Advertisers use this information to prey on our insecurities in order to purchase more.

This also allows platforms to make billions off of our information, because this information is extremely valuable to advertisers. Not a penny of this money ever ends up in the hands of the users. You could imagine a world where your data is monetized, and you get paid for it - there have been experiments on this - but do we really even want these sensitive and private things turned into just another thing to be bought and sold?

What do these social media platforms lack?

Aside from the financial interests of these platforms, we should also be aware that the platforms themselves could be much better for the average user, but we feel "stuck with" them as they are, unable to imagine a better way, due to the perceived lack of alternatives, and the big platforms' sluggish or nonexistent response to feedback.

Lets imagine just a few of the ways social media could be better than it is now:

  • Transparency about how the algorithm works, what type of data is being collected and how it is being used.
  • The ability to opt-out of features one doesn't want such as the Infinite Feed, "stories" and similar.
  • Reverse-chronological feeds, meaning you see what was posted in order of when it was opposed - as opposed to the current algorithmic method used today.
  • Any official technical support for users (used's) whatsoever.
  • The ability to customize your Infinite Feed rather than relying on the algorithm at all.
  • Ability to export your data and content.
  • The ability to customize your profile's look and feel to your liking.
  • Inbuilt collaborative features that encourage people to work together.
  • Good opportunities for long-form text and productive discussion.
Is there scientific evidence social media can cause psychological harm?

YES, plenty! We all have experienced the "doom-scroll" and "fomo" - common side effects of using social media, but there are many other harmful effects such as effecting people's sleep habits, allowing bullying and victimization, making body image issues worse, and plenty of others. Thankfully, this area of research is very active and there is tons of research papers and educational information out there. Here are just a few:

If I sign up for a platform using a throwaway email or identity, does that prevent platforms from collecting my real data?

Data collection does not start or end with the information we sign up with. Our devices and applications are designed to track us and send this information to the websites we visit.

If you use your phone to access these apps, the platforms can access other data on our phone that tells the platform about who we are. Every time we use the app or platform, even under an alias, our behavior is still being monitored.

Even when on our personal computers, most browsers use something called fingerprinting to gather and distribute our data.

What is the deal with 'algorithms' on social media, and what does it mean?

The 'algorithm' refers to a collection of rules and data that make decisions about what we want to see on the platform. Each of the big platforms are powered by deep neural networks (AI) that carry this out automatically, without human intervention. These algorithms are important to these platforms because it allows them to manipulate what each user sees, based on that user's behavioral profile.

The algorithms directly affect: what posts you see first on your timeline, which accounts you are recommended, what types of ads you see, how long you spend on the app and more.

If social media is bad, does that mean I should stop using it?

We want to clarify that social media itself is not the problem. The problem is with modern social media platforms. Human beings need social interaction. We should not shy away from being social online, but instead find healthy, rewarding ways to be social online that don't exploit us and that allow us to form genuine social connections on the internet.

Alternative Lists See also: Further reading...