Is social media inherently the problem, or is it the way it is designed that’s the problem? These are businesses, and the goal of business is maximum profit and infinite growth. For social media what is most profitable is engagement, and negativity drives engagement the most, so algorithms push for content that elicits the most negative reactions possible. It is rewarded the most and put into feeds the most. Would social media still be as harmful if this was not the guiding principle of their design? What if social media encouraged the social aspect, was designed for forging connections, and rewarded more positive content? Social media technology could enhance our lives rather than make it worse if it were created in this way. Yet, as long as it is made to be sold and generate wealth and profit that’s not going to be the case because what is profitable and what is good for us are rarely the same.
