The case for logging off

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/08/2018 (2849 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If Facebook affecting the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the Orwellian hold that social media has on society are topics of interest, then Jaron Lanier’s Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now is your social media manifesto.

Lanier is a scientist, musician, writer and Silicon Valley pioneer known for his work in virtual reality. His books Who Owns the Future? and You Are Not a Gadget were international bestsellers, and Dawn of a New Everything was named a 2017 best book of the year by the Wall Street Journal, The Economist and Vox.

In Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, Lanier provides compelling reasons to step away from social media interaction.

He poses a fascinating question: “How can you remain autonomous in a world where you are under constant surveillance and are constantly prodded by algorithms run by some of the richest corporations in history, which have no way of making money except by being paid to manipulate your behaviour?”

Lanier answers this question in 10 parts, using insider knowledge and research to validate his arguments. He explores the loss of free will, addiction and how social media impacts politics and economics.

Social media algorithms have changed traditional advertising into behaviour modification. “Content is chosen and ads are customized to you, and you don’t know how much has been changed for you, or why,” Lanier said.

Social media companies are profiting big time from behaviour modification. So much so that Lanier developed an acronym: BUMMER (Behaviours of Users Modified, and Made into an Empire for Rent).

“The problem that has made the world so dark and crazy lately is the BUMMER machine, and the core of (this) machine is… a style of business plan that spews out perverse incentives and corrupts people. Outside of China, the only tech giants that fully depend on BUMMER are Facebook and Google.”

Even with this knowledge, Lanier remains an optimist. “Digital networks genuinely deliver value to us. They allow for great efficiencies and convenience. That’s why so many of us worked so hard to make them possible.”

With some overarching changes, a better social media platform could emerge. Lanier is a proponent of paying for service. “When social media companies are paid directly by users instead of by hidden third parties, then they will serve those users. Someone will be able to pay to see poisonous propaganda, but they won’t be able to pay to have that poison directed at someone else.”

He recommends deleting social media accounts to force change. “If you don’t quit, you are not creating the space in which Silicon Valley can act to improve itself.”

To illustrate this point, Lanier references lead paint. “When it became undeniable that lead was harmful, no one declared that houses should never be painted again. Instead, after pressure and legislation, lead-free paints became the new standard. Smart people simply waited to buy paint until there was a safe version on sale. Similarly, smart people should delete their accounts until non-toxic varieties are available.”

To start, Lanier suggests emailing your friends instead of using social media (using accounts that are not read by the provider — no Gmail, for example) and accessing news online by reading websites directly.

Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now is thought-provoking and balanced with valid insights. It should be required reading for anyone about to download an app and upload their life.

Deborah Bowers is a marketing and communications professional who understands social media from a business perspective, but personally sees less and less value in it. If a major life event happens and one doesn’t share it on social media, does it still exist? Why yes, it does.