so @julesterpak articulated this on her tiktok (linked below)
Social media's positivity/toxicity is inherently about user intent. There's a huge difference between:
a) posting to get a reaction
b) archiving a memory that you're comfortable... See more
From 2002-2006, social media companies emerged with the explicit mission of "connecting the world," but the introduction of the feed and the like, plus the switch from friends to " followers " indicated a different pitch: "now, even you can a star."
Once upon a time, the Internet was predicated on user-generated content. The hope was that ordinary people would take advantage of the Web’s low barrier for publishing to post great things, motivated simply by the joy of open communication. But then ad sales came into play.
That business model is still what most of the Internet relies on today.... See more