Social Media: A Terrifying Self-Reinforcing Cycle of Destruction by Victor Biet

As we often talk about, social media needs to be limited, or at least closely supervised by some framework. But I think it must be limited in a way much greater than most people think. The most worrying problem with social media lies not in the harmful consequences that we experience today, but in the world that it will guide us into tomorrow. As it stands, social media is a self-reinforcing destructive mechanism. While starting as a ‘social’ form of media, it has transformed into a source of information (or, dare I say, disinformation), a reward after accomplishing a task, a fully fledged activity, and a distraction when one must wait more than a few minutes, and in worse cases, a few seconds. And it only risks continuing to accumulate roles. Analyzing social media’s self-reinforcing destructive nature requires us to first examine its mechanisms of self-reinforcement before understanding its destructive essence. 

The foremost of the aforementioned mechanisms is, in simpler terms, addiction. At its core lie carefully crafted algorithms made to keep us hooked as long as possible. Endless scrolling becomes an arch-nemesis against whom fighting is impossible. It is much easier to swipe up than to put our phone down. Waking up without scrolling one or two reels is inconceivable; who is going to get me out of bed if not bombardino crocodilo? Social media becomes our reward after finishing an assignment or as a study break. It becomes a distraction for lapses of time as short as Claude rereading an essay. We use it to fill almost every moment of our day, preventing us from enjoying better activities. We read less, go outside less, interact less, question less. We scroll more, spiral more, react more, hate more. We sacrifice physically and intellectually healthy activities for small injections of dopamine. Social media has made us addicted to the point where self-awareness of that addiction is not sufficient to break away from it. While addiction is already destructive on its own, social media possesses yet another devastating dimension.

To clarify this dimension, let us work through a few steps of reasoning. Social media is an extremely powerful tool at the disposal of those who own it. The number of people it reaches is astronomical, while only a handful of people pull the strings. And it is from this discrepancy that the destruction arises. The decision-makers possess an extremely addictive tool capable of (dis)informing, polarising, or mobilising unprecedented amounts of people. The information is more often than not unverified, distorted, and manipulated. Excerpts are taken out of context and used to tell a different story. Social media has replaced traditional sources of information, transforming centuries of complex history into 60-second snippets that people now regard with the same authority as scientific research. Malicious algorithms drag you into a bubble whose addictive mechanisms make it increasingly difficult to burst. You are consistently presented with information that aligns with the profile you sustain through likes, comments, and reposts. While seeing content you identify with is not a problem per se, it is the lack of opposing views that is problematic. As many dietitians say, a healthy diet is built on a diversified intake of food, and I tend to believe that it is the same for intellectual well-being. Social media is destructive because it is perversely used by the few who control it to lock people into feedback loops, fueling division, thus primarily benefitting the status quo.

Of course, I completely recognise the role social media has played in shedding light on conflicts or injustices that were previously disregarded. For the uprising in Nepal, freeing the population from a corrupt and autocratic regime, for the #MeToo movement, or for the Arab Spring. While some might say that a crackdown on social media implies a crackdown on freedom of speech, I sincerely invite a conversation on establishing the extent to which these platforms allow for this freedom. Are algorithms made to be biased against some ideas and perspectives? To what extent does that affect social media’s freedom of expression? I believe that, to some extent, we live in the illusion that social media is a universal tool for freedom of expression. And because of that illusion, any regulation on social media is seen as a direct attack on freedom of speech, preventing any meaningful progress. However true this is, I think some sacrifice is necessary to prevent social media from completely numbing and enslaving us.

What lies ahead is absolutely terrifying. I cannot help but envision a world where social media becomes our absolute everything. A world in which we become so alienated by social media that the self-awareness we previously had simply disappears. The handful of people in control could then do whatever they want with us. As a shepherd and their border collies control a flock, the architects of the algorithms would craft a reality in which social media would be our only source of stimulation. That reality would reflect whatever devious thoughts drive those in power, somewhat enslaving us to their desires. For the few aware, finding a way out of this quagmire would be close to impossible. They would need to find a solution to a problem which the dumbed-down masses would not even conceive as a problem. What social media has been very successful in doing, giving a voice to those who previously had none, would not be possible anymore. Social media would turn exactly into what it has sought to eliminate: a unique source of (dis)information regulated by a few. Until meaningful laws and sanctions guide the ownership of social media, the content available on these platforms, and the design of the addictive mechanisms, social media should mostly remain social. Let us not condemn ourselves to the dystopia laid out by this piece. It’s not too late, but we need to act before it is.