Author and blogger Amy Welborn, who has been active in online Catholic discourse for a full generation now, has begun a series of critical reflections on the place of social media in our lives. The first post is here. An excerpt:
Maybe begin with the following. First recognize that this internet/social media loop is not random. It didn’t just happen. Like marketing, it’s designed.
It’s designed to elevate and harness various aspects of human personality and behavior, not for the benefit of society, not for your personal benefit, but for their profit.
There’s no nobility here. There’s no idealism. It’s about money and power, period.
It’s about using particular types of energy that make you tick, like you’re a cog in a machine.
