In a Bid To Increase Engagement, Social Media Platforms Are Striving To Make Users Dumber. And It’s Working
Algorithms are now programmed to promote content that panders to the lowest common denominator
I’m going to call it. We have reached peak social media. I know, I know, you thought it was bad enough already. First, social media gave the village idiots a megaphone to the world. Then, Chernobyl-like, they released toxicity on us. You’d think that was enough. But no. Ooooh no. Social media platforms aren’t done with us all yet. They won’t rest until they’ve created an idiocracy, where each one of us is dumber than the other.
And I have proof.
So, I was looking at LinkedIn yesterday. I do this most days. My right hand is on the mouse, scrolling through the posts as my left hand brushes the bits of my soul that crumble onto the desk like a freshly baked croissant. LinkedIn is just one endless stream of selfies, humble brags and “delighted to announce” posts, and then I come across this one.
Observe Exhibit A below (there won’t be an Exhibit B as at the going rate, we won’t need to know the alphabet, we’ll just communicate in emojis, like a digital version of cave painting).
