Facebook: A conspiracy of moral ghouls harvesting human intimacy for ad dollars
A new article from Brian Phillips of the ringer titled The Cost of Living in Mark Zuckerberg’s Internet Empire:
Facebook has long since shown itself to be a conspiracy of moral ghouls harvesting human intimacy for ad dollars;
I don’t think I’ve ever read a better description of Facebook.
Further down it gets even better:
What’s on your mind is either a commodity for Mark Zuckerberg to sell or it is something else, something that belongs to you alone, and which of those alternatives you choose will go a long way toward defining the next decade of life on the internet. I mean not only in terms of a regulatory framework that I do not believe is forthcoming, but also literally in terms of how you imagine what it means to a human being—how mechanized you’re willing to allow your conception to become, how in thrall to a handful of apps.
Facebook is the worst offender, but in general, Silicon Valley has moved in the direction detailed above for years now. It’s time to take mental stock of this and assess how much more you’re willing to take.
One more:
The fact that I cannot remember the last time the internet made me feel, on balance, less anxious and better about other people tells you something about how much has changed online since 1999, 2001, and even 2007.
Lets make 2019 the year we break the chain of social media tragedy and get back to an open, free internet not driven by ad tracking.