Social media can be different.

The controversy is that social media has two identities.

Social media is an essential coordination tool in a complex society. It is also shaped by addictive design backed by for-profit ad incentives. The paradox starts when those two identities are fused into one everyday app.

Why people need it

An essential tool of coordination

In cities, schools, families, movements, creative work, and emergencies, in-person communication is not always realistic. Social media helps people find each other, coordinate, learn, and belong.

2x more effectivethan close friends at opening a door to a new employer.Rajkumar et al., Science, 2022

44% onlineof LGBTQ+ young people felt very safe expressing who they were, compared with 9% in person.Born This Way Foundation & Hopelab, 2025

68% onlineof LGBTQ+ young people found affirming spaces, compared with 40% at home and 20% at community events.The Trevor Project, 2024

Why the design worries people

Addictive design backed by ad incentives

The dominant business model rewards attention, prediction, and growth. That can push platforms toward infinite feeds, notifications, social comparison, and recommendation systems that keep people inside.

$88.8Bin U.S. social media advertising revenue in 2024, according to the IAB/PwC report.IAB, 2025

2x riskfor poor youth mental-health outcomes among young people spending more than three hours a day on social media.U.S. Surgeon General, 2023

1 in 3U.S. teens say they use at least one major social platform almost constantly.Pew Research Center, 2024

What if social media was about people's happiness?

But what is it really about?

Once we separate the human need from the business model, the argument gets more interesting: what should a healthier social internet optimize?