Social media, fractured society, and the way out

About 12 years ago, I read three books (two in picture, and the third being 'The Filter Bubble', which I somehow couldn't find in my library. Did I gift it to someone? Can't recall!). They talked about internet's hyper-personalisation and how it could affect individuals and cultures.

These books have aged like fine wine.

At the time, they talked about how Social Media (and even the larger internet) shifting towards the principles of personalising 'feeds' would lead to serious harm, and perhaps even fracturing of the society. Back then, Digital Media was only a part of the 'information diet' of the general populace, so the idea seemed a bit far fetched. But now that it's practically the whole diet of the majority, it's all happening as predicted.

As we can probably notice, a fractured society isn't a dystopian vision anymore. It's the reality.

Social Media platforms work on the principles of engagement through personalisation; you see more of what you like seeing already. And while that's good for tech companies and their engagement metrics, it's bad news for everyone else. Studies have shown (quite unambigiously) that people exposed to high usage of social media for a sustained period of time become discernably (and quantifiably) retarded. That's not good.

And this is not hearsay. If you search for PISA Test Scores OECD Average (which measure Math, Science and Reading skills of kids in over 80 countries), the graphs will show you a sharp decline from 2012. What happened in 2012? The ubiquity of smartphones and the birth of Instagram.

A sustained drop in math, reading and science skills is not just restricted to kids, by the way. There's literally a term called "Digital dementia" that describes the decline in cognitive abilities caused by excessive use of digital technology. Adults are no different here. Social media is making people lose IQ points how they wished they lost weight, across all age groups and genders. And there are over 120 solid studies pointing to this observation.

To think of it, this shouldn't be surprising at all. Living in a filtered bubble of one’s set preferences can't actually enhance knowledge. All it can do is feed echo chambers and drag us into rabbit holes. And that's what it does.

But all that leading to a fractured society?

Sure! When the issues at hand become contentious (as political matters often are) a serious fracture of social order isn't too far off. Why would it be? After all, when both sides keep drifting apart, the common ground shrinks. And fast.

The good news is that there's a way out: It's the plain old newspaper.

A newspaper, as you might have heard, is a holistic collection of articles from varied fields, printed as news on paper. Now many of these articles might not be interesting to you. If it's a business paper, many could even be too tough to follow. But once you read them (or even glance through them), you end up being far more knowledgeable. It helps you zoom out. Think macro. Connect the dots. Become aware.

Paper >> Screen.

These two books, along with The Filter Bubble, have aged like fine wine.

P.S. My company builds Voice Agents for businesses to help them acquire, engage and retain customers through calls. If this seems interesting, reach out and we’ll talk! :)