alt Hacker NewsMaybe this will make it more clear, so big difference is that people can connect across the planet without "big social media".
There are internet forums, chats, e-mail, blogs, there is no inherent need for "big social media" as we know. I do understand those companies made it much easier for average person to participate but still using internet forum or e-mail isn't exactly rocket science.
Here we are on HN, where no one is changing the layout and not doing much to drive engagement. Some days I don't even open any discussion because there is a lot of stuff that is not interesting for me.
"Big social media" companies had already multiple people speaking up explaining that they specifically made changes to drive engagement to hook people up and keep them scrolling without "creating compelling content". They specifically tuned feed algorithms to promote lowest common denominator trash content that makes people react in anger/frustration/whatever and not "creating/promoting compelling content".
Replies
Comparing internet forums, chatrooms, email, and blogs to Facebook and TikTok seems like a bad joke. I don't think you recognize how impactful "Big Social Media" is. Facebook brought about the ability to easily reconnect with people you had lost touch with and stay in touch with them. Things like Instagram made photo sharing and discovery significantly easier than simply looking at what the most recent posted photos on Photobucket. TikTok mass marketed bite sized videos and community trends. These things either did not happen on other platforms or could not happen on them.
I think most people remember the earlier days of Twitter where having a centralized place with strong discoverability led to unique communities forming and expressing themselves. I shouldn't need to say this but, it obviously wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. So I'm not saying these platforms were perfect or without major issues. I am say that their unique nature is not something that can be replicated via other mediums. It simply doesn't scale.
Honestly I'm not seeing the issue with these platforms wanting to maximize time users spend on them. That's the goal of every business. What seems to get lost though is self control. TikTok being fun and enjoyable does not mean that you are incapable of closing the app. It's like banning phones from leaving your house because you are so addicted to texting and apps. You cannot fully control what comes up on most social media. But as any therapist will tell you, all you can control is your response. I just think there is a space for big social media sites in the world. I don't even use them, but I can recognize the impact they have made with the good and the bad.
So now you're demonstrating that you can criticize social media for its own flaws without having to conflate it with something else. I don't disagree with anything you're saying here, but nothing you're saying here involves attempting to equivocate social media with physical substance abuse.