The Anti-Social Social Media: As Addictive As Crack-Cocaine, And Equally As Detrimental
How social media uses intermittent reinforcement patterns to keep us hooked.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Back in the 1950s, scientists conducted a fascinating experiment with rats. They put the little rodents in a cage with a nifty lever. Every time the rats gave the lever a push, they got a tasty food treat in return. You can guess what happened next. The rats, like Pavlov's dogs, figured it out pretty quickly. They pressed the lever whenever they wanted a snack. Life was good in the rat world.
But then, one day, the food pellets stopped coming, and the rats got frustrated. They ditched the lever in a hurry.
Now, the scientists got curious. What if they switched things up and gave the rats rewards in a totally random way? They figured the rats would get frustrated again. But guess what? The opposite happened. The rats went all in, pressing the lever like there was no tomorrow. Even when the food supply completely vanished, now, the rats kept going and even tossed sleep, food, and grooming out the window. All they cared about was pressing that lever, hoping it would eventually give them another pellet.
The fancy term for this mechanism is "intermittent reinforcement." It resembles the concept behind a slot machine, and it's a powerful way to mess with someone's head. It's as addictive as crack-cocaine, and equally as detrimental.
Now, let's switch gears and talk about social media.
Social media plays the same game with us to keep us hooked.
Their algorithms are obscure and change patterns all the time. They resemble capricious, moody lovers, satisfying our fundamental needs for attention, care, affection, or validation in inconsistent ways. We never know if they will reward or punish us the next moment. They deliberately cultivate inconsistency to keep us addicted. That’s the behavior of someone with an anti-social personality disorder. Let me repeat that: It’s ANTI-social. Not social.
Now, why are social media platforms so keen on keeping us glued to our screens, you might ask? Well, it's mostly about their business model, which relies heavily on advertising. The more time we spend on their platforms, the more money they can potentially rake in from advertisers.
So, when we're out in the real world, chatting and hanging out without the social media distractions, those platforms don't make a dime. As long as this business model remains unchanged, you can bet that social media companies have a strong incentive to keep us hooked to our screens and not go out with friends to socialize in real life.
But does it have to be like this?
Let’s talk about potential future scenarios.
I sat down with communication students at the University of Vienna and they shared their thoughts on the future of social media with me. They expressed limited optimism about the future, with some even voicing reluctance to think about the future at all.
Their primary concerns revolved around the persistence or disruption of social media monopolies and what's going to happen with the described reward system.
So, together, we've come up with four different scenarios:
Scenario 1 - The Monopolies Lose Attraction
Imagine social media losing its addictive charm. The monopolies, the social media behemoths are still around, but that tricky reward system that keeps you guessing? Poof, it's gone. People start breaking free from their social media addiction and get back to real-world connections. Monopolized social media loses their junkies as they begin to heal and set themselves free.
Scenario 2 - Addicted Rats In A Cage
Now picture a world where people are like addicted rats in a cage, hooked on social media. The reward system cranks up the unpredictability, making people even more addicted. Monopolized structures stick around, and social media users become like lab rats, fixated on a lever that only sometimes rewards them. They're so caught up that they neglect themselves and their real connections with other people.
Scenario 3 - Old Wine In New Bottles
Here's a scenario where it's like "old wine in new bottles." The old monopolies break up, giving birth to new, competing social media platforms. But guess what? They pretty much operate like the old ones, using the same tricks to keep people hooked. It's just more of the same instead of a real social media revolution. In this scenario, it's a case of déjà vu.
Scenario 4 - Liberation: New Systems Evolve
In this scenario, we have a revolution. The old monopolies get dismantled, and the traditional social media reward system is scrapped. Brand new, diverse systems and channels come to life. Social media becomes a place for genuine connections, helping people foster their relationships with each other instead of living in a disconnected, inhuman digital world.
So, which of these four social media worlds would you prefer to live in? Or do you have completely different, revolutionary ideas? Let me know.
🎯💡If you'd like my help to develop future scenarios for your business or any other topic, too, just toss me an email (office@redswan.at) and we'll chat about the options including publicly open scenario-workshops, in-house work-alongs with your team, one-on-one coaching for you personally, or monthly scenario sessions for your company, etc.
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