Evolution of Social Media

The first social network was created in 1997 by Andrew Weinreich and was named Six Degrees. Weinreich described the social network with the following phrase: “The challenge is to build a community, the challenge is to ignite a flame. This is a service you can use to make your lives more efficient.” Six Degrees shut down in 2000 mainly because the social network did not facilitate easy image uploads.

What remains of those values?

The community has evolved into a hierarchical social structure with kingdoms ruled by kings. These kingdoms are the companies that run social media networks: X, Meta, Google, Microsoft. The kings are the algorithms behind the digital products: X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn. Currently, we are transitioning from a parliamentary monarchy to an absolutist one. If you are not loyal to the algorithm’s dogma, you are at a disadvantage.

The flame that Weinreich mentioned has indeed been created. The problem is that we are burning ourselves. As a society, we are fueling the algorithm with “likes” and the time we spend looking at smartphone screens. The algorithm shows us content we like, which increases the fire between different ways of thinking.

Regarding the most important value in Weinreich’s phrase: have we built a more efficient life? What is an efficient life? This humble writer does not know how to answer this question. I am not able to define what an efficient life is. Life should be balanced, and I am beginning to think it involves a dualism of certainties or experiences. Truths and lies. Wealth and poverty. Joy and sadness. Laughter and tears.

Under the previous premise, have social networks created a space for a balanced life? Philosopher José Carlos Ruiz dedicates a chapter titled “the self and the avatar” in his book The Art of Thinking. Ruiz mentions that we are facing two circumstances: the real and the virtual.

The virtual has undoubtedly gained much ground over the real. We are even moving to a paradigm where the virtual presence eclipses the real one. What favors this new paradigm?

Human Nature

Undoubtedly human nature. Human beings are social creatures who live in society. We know that the common good is greater if everyone collaborates, even if the sacrifice is sometimes individual good. To establish bonds and connections, we use gossip.

Gossip is a very powerful human element that always operates under a natural paradigm of giving and receiving. I give gossip because the other listens to me. On social networks, we give time and receive recognition. Current algorithms know all this. After all, their progenitors are human.

The Choice of Our Self

Secondly, we have created out of nothing a space where we are capable of choosing what and who we are. Writer Jorge Bucay mentions in one of his books that there is a real self and an idealized self. The comparison between what we are and what we believe we want to be drives us to want to improve. The downside is that if we do not reach the idealized self, the ego appears, we flagellate ourselves, and we end up in a process that makes us unhappy. The writer proposes that if we eliminate the idealized self, the comparison disappears, and we can accept ourselves as we are.

Imitation in the Digital Age

Thirdly, social networks feed on how human beings have learned over time: imitation. We believe that everything that happens on social networks is extrapolable to physical reality. We imitate behaviors, methods, and words. We are imitating what is presented to us in the virtual circumstance. At no time do we question whether what is presented on the virtual screen is only true in the digital context. Imitating those who succeed on social networks causes us wounds of frustration**, scars of hatred, and leaves voids in our existence in physical life.

Rethinking the Model

In light of this paradigm, it is necessary to rethink the model we have created. We must establish education and critical thinking as fundamental pillars of our physical circumstance. We must doubt to find certainties. Only by establishing foundations based on certainties in physical reality will we be able to reverse the situation and build a virtual circumstance that adds value to the real one.