Social media is terrible, but it doesn’t have to be

This editorial was written by Bloomberg View.

For the social-media business, this new year is one of grim tidings. Every day, it seems, pioneers in the field are offering mea culpas — airing regrets, expressing caution, apologizing for a technology that seems to have run amok.

One former Facebook executive recently conceded that the network is “ripping apart the social fabric.” A former engineer has warned of a looming “dystopia.” Another veteran admitted that the company is “exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology.”

Across Silicon Valley, insiders have lately been raising similar concerns, and fretting that the business model of social media may be undermining the well-being of its users. A growing body of research suggests they have a point.

Among the young, social media may be playing a role in rising rates of depression and suicide. It seems to induce feelings of envy, anxiety and inadequacy. It appears to reduce self-esteem, inhibit sleep, interfere with schoolwork and (of all the ironies) encourage antisocial behavior. Some twothirds of kids now say they wouldn’t mind if social media didn’t exist. And who can blame them?

The problem is that it’s hard to quit. Armed with vast troves of data, companies have deduced clever ways to keep users on their sites. They’ve developed powerful tools that exploit quirks in human psychology to create something close to addiction.

Add all this up and an uncomfortable truth emerges: People are being drawn inexorably to a product that’s making them feel terrible. A number of solutions have been mooted for this dilemma.

Try “digital detoxes,” say some. Develop new ethics and standards for software designers, say others. Use Facebook more, says Facebook.

In the end, though, it is up to the social media business to make its products more humane and less exploitative.