Up@dawn 2.0

Friday, April 26, 2019

Beating Our (Social Media) Addiction

Jaron Lanier is a jack of all trades. Born in New York City in 1960, he is a computer philosopher, visual artist, classical composer, entrepreneur, author, and some describe him as a Utopianist, however he would vehemently deny this. He is known as one of the founders and pioneers of Virtual and Augmented Reality. He founded BPL research Inc., after he left Atari in 1985. BPL was the first company to sell VR goggles and gloves, something which is often credited to other companies. During the 1990s and 2000s, he worked for companies such as silicon graphics and Internet squared. Since 2009, he has worked as a interdisciplinary research scientist at Microsoft.

Jaron Lanier Photos - 50 of 66



He is certainly no stranger or amateur when it comes to Silicon Valley. In fact, he was one of the founders. He is known for criticizing his own, and warning the public of the possible dangers that may be incurred by relying too heavily on this unregulated tech sector. One of his biggest criticisms is for Facebook. When asked about the Cambridge Analytica scandal, he replied with “I believe it’s just the tip of the iceberg”. That’s a pretty scary thought for the 2.7 billion people that are on Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, or Messenger every month.



I was inspired by Lanier’s book “Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now” and wanted to learn more about what he considers to be one of the most dangerous addictions of our time. He underscores that we are not the customers of companies like Facebook, Twitter, or Google, but we are actually the test sample for companies to advertise to. We so willingly give up our information (which believe it or not actually has significant monetary value) to Social Media, who then turn around and sell it to advertisers who then sell us on items or values. They are even able to predict our political and social leanings and pair us up with people of like-mind which leads to the echo chamber effect we see specifically on Twitter and Facebook. 


PHOTO: Book cover for "Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now" by Jaron Lanier.



Nothing on your social medial accounts is by accident or happenstance. It is always by either nefarious or benign (although you could argue this is not any better) intent to get you get you addicted — and yes I mean addicted. Just like a drug, social media users subconsciously love and rely on the highs (ie. likes, comments, friend requests, and positive affirmation) which in the tech industry is revered to as the “dopamine hit” and the lows (ie. arguments in the comment section, negative feedback, feelings of intense FOMO, and high school-like drama). The only difference is that no one tells us that it is a drug, so we feel as though we are in control. There is no AA or rehab for social media addicts and therefore we think that we could quit at any time. After all, it's just a way for us to connect with friends and family -- and everybody else is on it so we can’t really be the only one who’s disconnected, right?



How we need to remake the internet | Jaron Lanier

Lanier’s greatest skill is his ability to lay out the argument without leading you to a right or wrong answer. He feels like it’s his job to educate and let people decide for themselves, as it’s a case-by-case decision. Lanier’s diagnosis: most of us have an addiction, though not everyone, to social media and it is ironically driving a wedge between us and our communities. His prescription: take 30 days away from social media (and that means all of it, even Snapchat), purposefully engage with friends and family face-to-face, and interact with nature — then come back and decide for yourself if you feel better with or without it. 

Comments on:

  1. First Image of Black Hole by Dean Cheevers
  1. World Building and Escapism by Austin Newell.

Sources:




2 comments:

  1. Lanier really is one of the most interesting, humane, and thoughtful observers (and creators) of information technology. I find him very sane, in emphasizing the importance of regarding these technologies as OUR tools, and us as not THEIRS. His book "You Are Not a Gadget" is increasingly relevant. He asks an uncomfortable question: “But the Turing test cuts both ways. You can't tell if a machine has gotten smarter or if you've just lowered your own standards of intelligence to such a degree that the machine seems smart. If you can have a conversation with a simulated person presented by an AI program, can you tell how far you've let your sense of personhood degrade in order to make the illusion work for you?"

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think addiction tot social media is a huge problem. I personally might have a small one myself :) Although, I could delete it if i needed to. It has just made my attention span terrible. I constantly want to be seeing/ doing stuff on my phone while I'm waiting for something to load, waiting in line, etc. I think a 30 day cleanse from social media like the author suggests is a good idea.
    The times I am having the most fun- when im at a festival or on vacation- I usually am off my phone. That's how I know I had a good time.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.