THREAD:
I watched Netflix doc The Social Dilemma—so many self-important people pronouncing such nonsense about their power to rule the world through social media with their algorithms that "control" us helpless automata, yet another "existential" threat to humanity. Be skeptical!

Evidence from cognitive science (cf Hugo Mercier's Not Born Yesterday) shows that these people had next to no influence on the 2016 election or anything else of importance. Pure self-aggrandizement. "I worked for the tech company that now threatens humanity. I'm guilty!"
BS

"Is this the last generation...?" Oh please. Every generation of 25-35-year olds thinks they're witnessing the end of the world & that they were part of it. Sorry kids. The "like" button is not "destroying the world." You're not that important. Get over yourselves. Perspective.

I've been hearing this narrative since I thought I was part of that world-changing generation in my 20s. X will "change the world." Y will "destroy humanity". Z is an "existential threat". It never happens. "This time is different." Study history. No it isn't.

These naïfs act shocked to discover that Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon et al. do things to attract customers & get them to spend more money in order to make a profit. Diabolical! Here's an idea—if you're worried, quit using the services. Oh it's the plebes you're worried about?

It gets worse: "These markets undermine freedom and should be outlawed." Outlawed? As in imprisoning the CEOs of these tech companies? Ok, how about we start with imprisoning all you programmers who "robbed us of our freedom" through your algorithms that "control" our actions?

Do any of these pundits think they themselves are helpless automata who lost all volition over their lives because of social media? Of course not! It's the "flea-beetles", "chattering dwarves", the "botched & the bungled" (Nietzsche) who must be rescued by these cyber Übermensch.

This whole moral panic over social media is nothing more than self-aggrandizing elitism by a bunch of millennial snobs who look down on the rest of humanity as nothing more than impotent lunk-heads incapable of simply turning off the machine the elites built. Quit.

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