Former Facebook exec says social media is ripping apart society

The Verge ^ | December 11,2017 | By James Vincent

[Hojczyk]

Another former Facebook executive has spoken out about the harm the social network is doing to civil society around the world. Chamath Palihapitiya, who joined Facebook in 2007 and became its vice president for user growth, said he feels “tremendous guilt” about the company he helped make. “I think we have created tools that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works,” he told an audience at Stanford Graduate School of Business, before recommending people take a “hard break” from social media.

Palihapitiya’s criticisms were aimed not only at Facebook, but the wider online ecosystem. “The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops we’ve created are destroying how society works,” he said, referring to online interactions driven by “hearts, likes, thumbs-up.” “No civil discourse, no cooperation; misinformation, mistruth. And it’s not an American problem — this is not about Russians ads. This is a global problem.”

He went on to describe an incident in India where hoax messages about kidnappings shared on WhatsApp led to the lynching of seven innocent people. “That’s what we’re dealing with,” said Palihapitiya. “And imagine taking that to the extreme, where bad actors can now manipulate large swathes of people to do anything you want. It’s just a really, really bad state of affairs.” He says he tries to use Facebook as little as possible, and that his children “aren’t allowed to use that shit.” He later adds, though, that he believes the company “overwhelmingly does good in the world.”

[DoughtyOne]

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[Vaquero]

I’ve been saying that since social media came out.

[FreeReign]

“No civil discourse, no cooperation; misinformation, mistruth. And it’s not an American problem — this is not about Russians ads. This is a global problem.”

The big misinformation and mistruth problem comes from Big Media, not social media.

[RC one]

The ongoing civil war is tearing America apart.

[Vaquero]

That also

[eyeamok]

I heard of this facebook thing, never tried it, not sure why anyone would in the first place??

[I want the USA back]

Social media doesn’t rip anything apart. Excessive, unreasonable use of social media favors the breakdown of social ties among people, of which there are already too few.

Ripping social media out of our hands isn’t going to get people to talk and interact with those who they don’t know. It would lead to people staring at the floor, or reading magazines, rather than interact with those around them.

What annoys me royally is the teenager with one white cord dangling from each ear who does not acknowledge the existence of other people. The dumb smartphone doesn’t cause this. It does allow it to thrive.

The breakdown took place before social media/smartphones/ear cords.

[DoughtyOne]

I understand what you’re trying to say, and I do agree with you.

[Old Yeller]

Just take off the social part and its true.

[calljack]

So, Ted Kaczynski was right? Right message, insane message delivery method.

[robroys woman]

Me too. I’ve said for a long time that before television and the automobile, the classes rarely mingled. But TV brought them together. Poor people got the same dose of consumerism commercials for expensive products gave to the middle class and the rich. This created strong dissatisfaction with their condition that, truth be told, most could do nothing about.

And now with social media, it is the same thing on steroids.

We will not survive intact.

[Skooz]

“The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops we’ve created are destroying how society works,” he said,

Well stated. I agree.

[pfflier]

I’ve been saying that since social media came out.

And then you were unfriended.

[reed13k]

It isn’t the tool that makes the wielder corrupt.

It isn’t the gun that kills.

It isn’t the software that is corrupting society.

I use social media to stay in much closer contact with my extended family then I ever would have otherwise. I am able to share and receive photos, updates, etc much quicker than via other means.

Every tool can be misused - just like a gun, knife, printing press can be misused - so can social media.

[Vaquero]

Never friended, friend.

[TheShaz]

When your whole world revolves around Social Media

You have a problem.

Whats your Twitter handle, I’ll try to let you know you have a problem.

[ilovesarah2012]

People either love it or hate it. I love it.

[Angels27]

I have to agree. Social Media is the worst thing to happen to society. Another tool the left uses to convert the masses to their side

[Vaquero]

I do enjoy Trumps tweets. Never had a handle there. Never lost any sleep over the fact.