The best-known and most used social networks have adopted strategies that prioritize financial results at the expense of their users. The worsening impact on mental health is undeniable, especially the impact on anxiety and social comparison. The platforms want metrics and profit, even if the users, their well-being, and mental health are affected. The social media experience has become an endless stream of triggers for engagement, likes, clicks, artificial beauty, and make-believe success. And sales. Lots of sales. Our private data is not safe. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and there’s no such thing as free use of X, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. The price isn’t measured only financially. Users pay with their data and their mental health.
Gradually, the migration to new platforms will take place—platforms that respect the “vision, mission, and values” statements placed on their websites. Platforms that encourage ethical behavior and combat misinformation and hate speech.
As redes sociais mais conhecidas e usadas têm adotado estratégias que privilegiam os resultados financeiros em prejuízo de quem as usa. É inegável o agravamento dos impactos na saúde mental, principalmente o impacto na ansiedade e comparação social. As plataformas querem métricas e lucro, mesmo que o utilizador, o seu bem-estar e saúde mental sejam afetados. A experiência em redes sociais transformou-se num fluxo interminável de gatilhos para engajamento e likes e cliques e beleza artificial e sucesso de faz de conta. E vendas. Muitas vendas. Os nossos dados privados não estão a salvo. Não existem almoços grátis e também não existe utilização gratuita de X, Instagram, Facebook ou TikTok. O preço não se mede apenas financeiramente. Os utilizadores pagam com os seus dados e com a sua saúde mental.
Gradualmente, será realizada a migração para novas plataformas, plataformas que respeitem o texto de “visão, missão e valores” que colocam nos sites. Que incentivem comportamentos éticos e combatam desinformação e discurso de ódio.
See you there. A gente vê-se por lá.
I’m not sure that will (or should) happen. Mainstream social media has an awful lot of shit that wouldn’t exist (or wouldn’t exist in the same way) on federated social media. For things that are purely commercial (which is a lot) the effort is higher and the payoff is smaller in a federated system. There’s a lot of social media that thrives only because it’s fundamentally commercial. That segment would never embrace federated social media willingly.
Then of course there’s the trigger-reward cycle you talk about. People might know it’s unhealthy, but they still do it. Not having that as part of the user experience a big adjustment coming to federated social media.