The game can never be played forever, it can be prolonged, it's end denied, or it's motive be equated with nature and progress itself, but sooner than later the cases against it will pile, and more we will recognize how instead of innovation, it's just another example of outsourcing the damage whilst centralizing the profits. Will centralized social media and communication platforms be the future? Of course, just like generative AI, NFTs and crypto.

To harness something as humane as otherness and social interaction to monetize or profit in the so far known only age of atomization, instead of reducing said loneliness, will be seen as the forgotten crime of the century.

Centralized social networks with algorithms put between you and another human to dictate and control your interactions, are so perfectly normal, akin to human progress, comparable to nature itself, which is why why the World Health Organization keeps finding new diseases and forms of psychological damage caused by it.

@ErikUden

where do you draw the line though? I like to use mastodon to read what's going on and air my own views etc, so what is it that defines a platform a being deliberately addictive or not?
it's a genuine question.

@Captain_Jack_Sparrow that's a good question! It's of course complicated, but I'd have the extremist view that any content modifying algorithm begins having addictive patterns. In German, the words “dependent” and “addictive” are sometimes used synonymously. I'd argue that true addiction comes from outsourcing control over what you see over to a machine, hence becoming dependent. Switching from Twitter to Mastodon will always be a hassle, as you need to re-learn to organize and find what you want to see. Taking back control is hard, it shouldn't be.

Going further down the line, I'd argue that you're certainly making your users addicted to your platform if all you care for is a content modifying algorithm that's only purpose is increasing screentime. If the algorithm was developed to increase happiness, increase human interaction or understanding, maybe I'd have a different belief, because using the platform would lead to a different outcome, one that's less harmful.