The Need for Smaller Communities
The pernicious effects of Big Social are wearing on society. The platforms are like cities.
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“The more men are massed together, the more corrupt they become. Disease and vice are the sure results of overcrowded cities.” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1762
Social media has grown on society the same way cities have throughout history.
As someone who once led global social media efforts for a Fortune 500 company,1 I never thought I’d say this, but social media has outgrown its usefulness.
What was once heralded as a panacea for communication—where everyone could have a voice and companies could listen in real time—turned into a digital Tower of Babel,2 caused young people to self-doubt and self-harm,3 and have created a billionaire class without accountability.4
The Chinese ownershi…
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