Social Media: A Civilizational Challenge?
ASSAS – 23-10-25
Naval RAVIKANT
AngelList Founder, early investor in�Twitter, Uber, Clubhouse, Notion
“Twitter, Facebook, Instagram are weaponized. You have [...] literally the best minds of our generation, figuring out how to addict you to the news.”
Naval RAVIKANT
AngelList Founder, early investor in�Twitter, Uber, Clubhouse, Notion
“The most powerful people in the world today are the people who are writing the algorithms for twitter, facebook and instagram because they're controlling the spread of information.”
Naval RAVIKANT
AngelList Founder, early investor in�Twitter, Uber, Clubhouse, Notion
“They're literally rewiring people's brains, they're programming the culture and they're doing it very subtly […] the precise algorithms of how they do that is very hidden very complex but influences the hearts and minds of everybody including all the voters.”
FOR 20 YEARS, SOCIAL MEDIA HAS SHAPED THE WORLD, OFTEN WITHOUT US REALIZING IT—AND AGAINST OUR INTERESTS.
—�Chamath Palihapitiya
VP Growth @ Facebook (2007-2011)
THIS IS NOT A CONSPIRACY THEORY
"I think we have created tools that are destroying the social fabric on which our society is built. The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops we have implemented are tearing apart how our society functions. [...] You are being programmed."
—�Tristan Harris
VP Design Ethicist @ Google (2013-2016)
One of the main protagonist of The Social Dilemma (2020)
THE MAJOR PLAYERS HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN MAINTAINING THE STATUS QUO
"I realized that even though everyone acknowledged the problems, no one really had an interest in solving them. I understood that I had to invest myself elsewhere to push this cause forward."
—�Sean Parker
Founder of Napster and one of Facebook's early investors
AND THIS IS NOTHING NEW
"How can we capture more of your time and attention [...] We are exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology [...] We understood this consciously, and we did it anyway."
IN THE END, A MASSIVE INDUSTRY BUILT ON SUPPOSED 'FREE ACCESS'... WAS THAT EVER REALLY CREDIBLE?
A 'FREE' MODEL THAT GENERATES BILLIONS
Global social media market: 250 - 300 Mds USD (2024)
Social Media | Market Size |
Meta | 134,9 Mds USD |
TikTok | 20 Mds USD (2023) |
Snapchat | 4,6 Mds USD (2023) |
Twitter / X | 3 Mds USD (2023) |
THE REVENUE OF 'FREE’�(WHAT OUR ATTENTION IS WORTH)
PLATEFORM | ARPU ($USD) | REFERENCE PERIOD | MAU�(MILLION) | SOURCE |
40,5 | 2022 | 3 000 | ||
24,7 | 2022 | 619 | ||
22,4 | 2022 | 2000 | ||
SNAPCHAT | 11,5 | 2023 | 750 |
How does it work? The structural consequences of attention economy models
1. Users give away their data by accepting the Terms of Service. This data is then used for precise targeting |
2. Individualized and siloed browsing experiences (filter bubbles) |
3. Confirmation bias / Reinforcement of individual beliefs / Conspiracy theories |
4. Polarization / Rise of Extremes |
5. Violence – Censorship – Frustration |
6. Increased violence and polarization |
7. Intensifed censorship |
8. Intensified frustration |
9. Flattening of credibility |
10. Radicalization / Rise of Extremes …etc. |
DESTRUCTION OF SOCIAL BONDS
THE COST OF FREE�IF IT’S FREE, THEN YOU’RE THE PRODUCT
90% of social media consumption happens on mobile�-> Amplifying Impact
The smartphone… this 'bicycle for the mind' turned out to be a hamster wheel
SPEED CONSTANTLY STIMULATES THE REPTILIAN BRAIN AT THE EXPENSE OF CONSCIOUS INTERACTIONS
“I think that the human brain is not designed to absorb all of the world's breaking news 24/7 emergencies injected straight into your skull with clickbait headline news.”
Naval Ravikant
ALGORITHMS DESIGNED TO CONSTANTLY TRIGGER THE '7 DEADLY SINS’
Maximization of Screen Time at All Costs (Our Value)
Profit-centric models are designed to exploit our structural weaknesses and constantly trigger our instincts to keep us connected.
The Downside, What We All Complain About…
- Structural Individualism
- Mass Narcissism
- Loss of Meaning
- World Atomization
(our instincts)
Evan Greer�American activist
THE ROOT OF EVIL: THE BUSINESS MODEL
An exclusively profit-centric approach is not compatible with basic human rights.��“None of this is to say that there aren't HUGE problems with social media [...] Their business models are fundamentally incompatible with basic human rights and democracy… But no one wants to address the business model.”
INCREASINGLY EFFICIENT MECHANISMS
+38 %
AI is coming, and it is incomparably more powerful than all the addictive mechanisms we have known...
Combined with a generational factor (no future human will have known 'before'), are we heading toward mass lobotomization?
Average Daily Social Media Consumption Time | |
2012 | 1:30 hour |
2020 | 2:30 hours |
THE ATTENTION ECONOMY—�'BY DESIGN' ENEMY OF DEMOCRACY
Otium (Skholè in Greek): It is the free time for thoughtful leisure, allowing us to step back and develop a more lucid relationship with the world.
- Personal Growth: It is the time to reflect, build oneself as an individual, not as a cog in a system.
- Democracy and Social Fabric: It is what gave birth to democracy.
In antiquity, this free time defined the value of existence.
In most spiritual traditions, attention is synonymous with being. When it is taken, we no longer ‘are’.
By confiscating this time, the attention economy removes both the context for self-growth and for 'building society’.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBDUbJmByV0/?igsh=NjQwcmFmdTB5YTk2
Laurent Gayard
FROM DEMOCRACY TO OCHLOCRACY
Power of the People vs Power of the Crowd: Where Are We Today?
Democracy, Two Opposing Visions: Plato vs Aristotle
Censorship on Instagram: The Power of the Crowd Threatens Freedom of Speech
THE CASE OF FAKE NEWS
Fake news spreads
6x faster because it is sensational.
OBSERVATION MADE 4 YEARS AGO �DURING THE AMERICAN ELECTIONS
The problem isn’t the other side, it’s social media that’s fracturing our country.
SOCIETAL EVENTS THAT RAISED AWARENESS
– CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA
– ROHINGYA CRISIS
– SNOWDEN PRIVACY TRIGGER
– HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP LEAK
– CAPITOL TAKEOVER
SOCIAL MEDIA AS A TRUE POLITICAL WEAPON
A Society Becoming Increasingly Polarized...
A Huge Problem of Freedom of Speech.
Who Decides What Can or Cannot Be Said?
FAKE NEWS + CONSPIRATIONISM��Antivax, Qanon, Wuhan Covid Lab Leak�…
TRUMP BAN SEPT 2023
TWITTER FILES
Government Requests Deletion and Control of Information on Twitter
SOCIAL MEDIA IS STILL THE HOT TOPIC... �AND WE’RE GOING TO HEAR ABOUT IT MORE AND MORE...
Elon Musk buy Twitter
Kanye West wanted to buy Parler
Donald Trump create Truth Social
Helloquitix organise la fuite de Twitter
Linkedin est le nouveau Facebook
Web3 en explosion, Social Fi est la tendance
BUT THEN... �IS THERE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS?
THE EMERGENCE OF WEB3, SOCIAL-FI, AND BLOCKCHAIN AS A POTENTIAL SOLUTION
Decentralization
A key for privacy and ownership, but it doesn’t solve the fundamental problem…
Creator Economy�What sells gets promoted, that’s the only criterion.
It’s always 'profit + attention-centric.
Web3 mitigates risks but does not address the root cause.
It’s not a problem of system, but one of values.
For the people to be 'enlightened', we must:
2) Introduce a framework of universal values
3) Create a context that encourages free adherence to those values.
TODAY, A CIVILIZATIONAL WAR? �THE 21ST CENTURY'S COGNITIVE CRISIS
RADICAL FREEDOM OF SPEECH
X, Musk, Trump�maily right�far-right.�libertarians
CONTROL, REGULATION,
CENSORSHIP
DSA, HelloQuiteX�mainly left,�far-left, single-minded thinking, woke ideology
VS
THAT THE ‘OLD CONTINENT’ IS SUFFERING FROM
IS THERE ROOM FOR A COMEBACK OF THE ‘OLD CONTINENT’?
The need to create an alternative.
Neither the ultra-polarized US, nor totalitarian China...
Statement by Mr. Dominique de Villepin:
'We need a European social network'
Humanist values of the Old Continent
A unique ethical vision in the world.
SOCIAL NETWORKS? �IN SERVICE OF WHAT?
What is good for the species is ultimately good for all individuals, either directly or indirectly—not the other way around.
We need models designed for humanity.
The greater the power, the more it must be aligned with a concept of 'common good' that includes everyone.
ON THE BRINK OF AI: AN INEVITABLE REFLECTION ON 'ALIGNMENT' AND THE COMMON GOOD?
Wisdom Gap (Tristan Harris)
We are chimpanzees with an atomic bomb": We can no longer avoid the global consequences of our behaviors—that is, of our models.
Technology (particularly the rise of AI) confronts us with a stark choice: evolve and reach a new civilizational milestone or face extinction.
SOCIAL NETWORKS WILL NOT DISAPPEAR.�Harness their power to serve common goals.
Shut down social media?
That won’t happen. The power is already there, and if it’s not used wisely, it will inevitably be exploited by existing models.
Rediscover the notion of the common good.
We must reclaim the depth of this concept: individual fulfillment in service of society.
Fully embrace our animal nature.
We are still animals—forgetting that would be suicidal. Align the activation of the "7 deadly sins" with contributions to the common and lasting good. Reconcile individual rewards with the greater good.
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APPENDIX
Paul Graham – How to Make Wealth
Nir Eyal – Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
Tristan Harris – The Social Dilemma (documentaire Netflix)
BJ Fogg – Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything
Dan Ariely – Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
Seth Godin – This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See
Sean Parker – Contribution : Modèle d'engagement de Facebook (interviews et témoignages critiques)
Yuval Noah Harari – Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Algorithms designed to constantly trigger the "7 deadly sins" (our instincts).