I’m not sure if your comment is directed at me, but I think it’s pretty clear now that the medium is the message when it comes to social media. The algorithms are biased to generate conflict since that’s what keeps the users addicted and coming back for more. That’s the business model, so the more we engage with these technologies, the more antisocial we become, especially if we’re young and grew up in this new media environment, and if we exploit the anonymity to troll or to vent our frustrations. I grew up with Generation X so I remember when, as the Arcade Fire song says, “we used to wait.”
Can we change things? Can we opt out of these technologies? Increasingly, no, not if you want to avoid being considered a hermit. But different kinds of people will succumb more easily than others to the nature of their environment. The Millennials and younger folks are already more overprotected than were previous generations, so they’re primed to use social media for narcissistic purposes. (See Bill Maher’s recent video essay, “Almost InstaFamous,” linked below.)
