From Origin Story to Today
"Ours is a story that started in a dorm room and grew beyond anything we imagined" - Mark Zuckerberg
Humans are designed for connection—we’ve always longed for it. If you have a social media account, tonight your feed will most likely be filling up with pictures and videos of Halloween costumes. We will get to see who everyone dressed up like this year with the swipe of a finger. Some of us will be excited to post and see the pictures of friends, families, and even celebrities. Some of us will be annoyed and not care, wanting to get back to posting news articles. For some of us, it will cause feelings of being left out, jealous, or not good enough. Many factors play into this but one thing is for sure, it’s impossible to really grasp how very much social media has changed our lives in just about 15 short years.
In 2005 only 5% of us had a social media account and now 70% of us do. In 2003 the social networking site, Friendster, quickly had 3 million monthly users, followed by MySpace and Second Life. But launching in 2004 there was one that dominated them all and currently has 2.89 billion users.
Facebook has been in the news a lot this month, which is timely considering this month’s topic on the effects and origin of social media. This is not simply about Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook; honestly, the story is way bigger than one man. But the story of Facebook does begin with him. Stories deserve our attention, admission, and when needed, repair where harm has been made. There are plenty of organizations and people that want to “Take Zuck Down.” I don’t want to negate real-world issues that Facebook has influenced, from global division to parents grieving their child’s bullying and suicide. Though I don’t think specifically taking Mark down will solve the complex issues we as a society are dealing with today in the realm of our changed social interactions and their effect on us, however, I do believe accountability for all of Big Tech will help reverse the tide.
I also believe that stories matter. Specifically, origin stories link us to the present. I know that’s true in my own life.
Story opens my eyes to patterns playing out in my life today, and if I pay attention, it can lead me down a path to repair and healing.
Stories help make space to allow God to bring wholeness where I’ve blown it or where harm has caused immense pain in my life. Shining the light in the dark places is brave work. If we want to see change, we have to go down this road. But many don’t choose it. We stay stuck in a cycle that holds us back from real freedom.
Facebook and Big Tech continue to make excuses for the issues they have perpetuated. Recently, Facebook has made the news for its internal research that points to mental health issues among users of its websites, specifically among young girls. These documented cases get very specific and seem familiar considering the origin story of Zuck’s first social media site before Facebook.
He now calls it his “prank” website he made before Facebook. It was called FaceMash. It was a "hot or not" website he created for Harvard students using their ID photos to rank their classmates based on their appearances. The site showed users pairs of women and asked them to rank who was hotter. The homepage stated:
“Were we let in for our looks? No. Will we be judged on them? Yes.”
In a journal he kept on the site, young Zuckerberg made fun of some of the photos, “I almost want to put some of these faces next to pictures of farm animals and have people vote on which is more attractive,” he said. FaceMash was quickly forced to be taken down by the school and he launched Facebook the following year.
Origin stories are important, and this one is still at play in the life and work of Mark Zuckerberg in light of social media’s effect on teenage girls. When Frances Haugen, former Facebook data scientist and whistleblower, released Facebook’s own documents to the IRS it was revealed that the company knows Instagram, an online photo-sharing application and social network platform owned by Facebook, makes body issues worse for one in three girls. One way this plays out is through algorithms. Algorithms are designed to detect interaction among users to understand which content the users like to see the most. Popular content is pushed to the top of your feed on your phone to keep you engaged longer. The content shown is also tailored to your gender and age, and it is designed to show you more of what you’re seeing or what your “friends” are seeing and liking. So if a young girl’s thumb slows down as she’s scrolling on her phone, the algorithm pays attention to that scroll pattern, whether she’s reading or staring at an image. It then pushes more of that similar content to her feed. It will even send more harmful content, including eating disorder accounts.
A “hot or not” website origin playing out today in the lives of young kids.
istock
“The app also has a culture of posting only the best pictures and moments, and it operates as an addictive product. Top (Facebook) executives have reviewed the research, according to the Journal, and it was cited in a presentation given last year to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Still, Facebook has reportedly struggled to manage the problem while keeping users engaged and coming back. The (Wall Street) Journal report exacerbated at least one lawmaker’s concerns over Facebook’s exploration of a children’s version of Instagram. - CNBC
Due to much pressure from lawmakers and activists concerned about kids' mental health, including the petition we were circulating that many of you signed, Instagram is pausing its plans for Instagram for Kids currently.
When I say our stories matter, I’m speaking about acknowledgment and repair. We have an opportunity to right the wrong instead of making excuses or burning it all down. Whether it’s an individual or a corporate choice, we can change directions and move toward restoration rather than continuing in destruction. For Facebook and other social media companies, that might look like restoring what was done wrong by honoring young girls and reversing the tactics of these harmful strategies designed into the fabric of how social media works. But as long as Big Tech continues to choose profit over people then I will continue to advocate for their accountability.
There are many more issues at play with how social media benefits and harms society. But, as I said at the beginning, human connection is the goal. That was also a part of the origin story. As with many of you, when I signed up for Facebook back in 2006, it was to connect with family and friends. To share my life and pictures and to see theirs shared. To keep in touch, like modern-day snail mail and family albums all rolled into a convenient, instantaneous digital package. The intention was there, but I quickly saw the tech design influencing a different direction for users. The goal was profit at all costs, not connection.
Regardless of what Big Tech and Facebook get held accountable to do, there are two good and (I believe) attainable goals for me in striving to return to the purpose of my social media use. I’ve struggled plenty here, but when I keep these goals in front of me it’s very helpful. I try and teach my kids these intentions as well.
Connecting to Others and Sharing My Life. When I’m on SM, my goal is to engage and contribute more than consume. When connection turns quickly to hours of isolation it is the illusion of connection, which can result in comparison and envy instead of connection. Moments of comparison happen often throughout our lives—it’s human nature. But the comparison game goes on steroids with social media and friends’ highlight moments in our faces 24/7. This can affect our well-being. Wisdom with my time and intentions on social media helps me. (The goal of Big Tech is to keep you on their app, but it’s not the goal of your wellness.)
Following Inspiring Accounts. I have to take guarding my heart seriously. I am picky about who and what I allow on my feed and into my eyes. Following anything and everyone can bring real damage as well as drain me. People are incredible and there are some amazing accounts with beneficial news, real stories, and important content for me. But even with all the good, when I’m feeling information overload, I sense it. That’s when I try to take time away to digest not just continue to ingest.
We all know the tension of social media. It’s the gift and the curse. How we steward it is important. Story matters. Intention matters. It is all at play today, and if we pay attention, we can see it and hopefully do something meaningful with it.
-Dawn Wible
Find resources for healthy digital habits at talkmoretechless.com
sources: child mind institute, center for humane technology, digital wellness institute, sowthat.com, pew research center, fairplayforkids.org, cnbc, instagram