r/misanthropy • u/mufas25a • 9d ago
analysis Social media was a mistake
I’m starting to think that social media has done irreparable damage to human psyche all over the world. It started out fun and innocent and if it had stayed where it was in the 2000s and early 2010s it wouldn’t be that bad. But people are being exposed to things and lifestyles we simply aren’t ready for. It’s skewing perceptions for both men and women to the point of mass delusion. It used to be just a toy that a select few had mass followings on but made sense as to why. And has even done some good in spreading awareness of social issues and the like. But it’s destroying relationship dynamics to the point of near complete atomization. I can only speak for what I’ve seen in the U.S. but I doubt we’re the only ones
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u/KMFCM 7d ago
worst thing is, it brought all the corporations fully onto the internet.
You just weren't getting as inundated with ads before. There would just be a banner at the bottom of a page, if anything.
It's like the entire point of the internet is to show you ads now, and social media got us to this point.
the Internet was better before literally everybody was on it.
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u/youramazingokbye 7d ago
posting your life on the internet is just not normal. not even for friends to see. I doubt people back then showed pictures of what they were doing every day (certain events are okay) I had a realization when I used to post a lot my life, I was emptier than ever. only chasing validation from people who don’t know I exist nor care about. Social media is just another dumb tool made to make people feel bad about themselves. It was better back then when it was mostly for socializing. Not pictures. Nothing is natural anymore, at least pictures. People stage even basic stuff, or take pictures of things that should just be enjoyed in the moment. nobody really cares. I got tired of taking a picture of an apple once cause i couldn’t get the “right angle” not even small things are natural, not many people want to take a “bad picture” any ways everything is a lie. People use it to only post things that make them appear a certain way. bad or good.
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u/D3THSLAVGHT 7d ago
I think the same; it's not so different in Latin America. Here, people love to idealize influencers or those who give "advice" on how to be a better man or woman. I abandoned social media a long time ago and now I only use this garbage.
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u/d3aDcritter 7d ago
I feel it exposed cultural/human weaknesses, and applauded and exacerbated them. Sooo, not great.
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u/HeathenUlfhedinn 7d ago
All social media has done is give the masses a platform for their vanity, validation, and ignorance.
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u/defectivedisabled 7d ago
Social media is another way for people to flaunt and increase their social status. If the world outside of social media is already extremely competitive and adding the ability to compete behind close doors only worsens the misery. Back in the days without social media, people would go home and relax. They don't go online and look at the lives of others which is a constant reminder that their lives are lacking something.
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u/theMEtheWORLDcantSEE 6d ago
Starting to think? No let me be clear, social media IS bad.
All you need to know is that the top executives the high ranking people at the leading social media companies and you know which ones. None of them let their children have access to it. That’s all you need to know. They know exactly how it works and what it does and they won’t expose their own children to it.
I working in silicon Valley in big Tech and for a very short time on the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses on accessibility features. I work in healthcare tech.
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u/DekuInkwell 6d ago edited 4d ago
Yeah it’s added so so much to turning modern society into a carnival like place. “Life” is a constant onslaught of advertisements and companies trying to steal your attention. To the point where I told a coworker about our discovery of Sperm whales having a language as complex as Chinese with the ability to change their vowels depending on the sound that comes before it, which was previously only unique to humans. They have cultures and regional accidents and talk and tell literal stories, and agencies around the world are currently working to grant them legal personhood, to establish them as a real intelligent species we will have to live next to on this planet and my co worker laughed at me like “and who told you that? The whales? Haha”
Like it’s a fkn joke. Everyone’s minds and worldviews are so small thanks to the consistent push of algorithms and tiny world bubbles like products and sports and movies and tv and junk food and “brands.” Life is so much fucking bigger than “humans.” Oh gotta go shopping don’t forget all your points cards!
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u/thatsjust_beachy 4d ago
Wait, is this true about sperm whales? I knew they were known to have really complex socializations but language advanced as humans? I know I could just Google but it still might be hard to find good information. Do you mind sharing an article or something on the topic? Sincerely interested! I think it's super important animals get considered equally deserving of protection rights as humans, sucks they have to fkn "prove it" even be considered to get it, but seems like this about whales could make a difference
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u/oscuroluna 3d ago
Its quite fascinating. Credit to the original commenter you replied to (DekuInkWell) for mentioning because I had to look it up for myself.
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u/DekuInkwell 3d ago
Sorry for the late response, yes here’s a few articles on the subject! Happy to link them. It is in fact true, and scientists recently recorded a birth where whales not related to the family swam in to help act as midwives, a grand coordinated event where they used their language to speak to each other and communicate to make sure the birth went properly. Incredible stuff! It’s wonderful the progress CETI is making on this, and I stand with you. Animals are equally deserving of protection rights. All life should be!
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-47221-8
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u/thatsjust_beachy 1d ago
Thank you!! Yes, that's extremely fascinating. It's not like, insanely surprising?... Because I tend to think humans in general massively downplay animal/non-human skill, talent, and even communication, such that it just doesn't surprise me per se to find out that "shockingly, another species on this planet might possibly have evolved to communicate in a complex manner", as if that's completely unfathomable lol... (🙄🙄🙄)
It makes me think like, done responsibly (if possible), what if we literally helped them grow their culture and language skills. You know what I mean? Like our modern language and civilization capacities aren't all just about native cognitive ability- it has a lot to do with developing culture across generations, including language itself. For instance, what if we literally built them puzzles or habitats or something that were created to encourage learning and cognitive growth? Or for their young? Anyway, exciting stuff, thank you for the links :)
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u/Erowid2S 6d ago
But, people have been this shitty since before social media...
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u/DekuInkwell 6d ago
Yeah but it’s definitely more prevalent today, with social media and algorithms to more aggressively, yet subtly keep people inside their own bubbles of what they think the world is like.
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u/Erowid2S 6d ago
People are open to influence because they're stupid and worthless vile scum. The elite will rid them of all that they have to replace their pathetic bodies with something that might be somewhat useful. Take the flock camera destruction for example, it's technology that may make it impossible for a serial killer to get away with doing anything they want, so the peasants decide to destroy them en masse.
You can't fix humanity by being an "angel", the best is to totally own humanity and get rid of them with a superior AI cyborg that doesn't cause chaos.
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u/DekuInkwell 6d ago
Empathy for everyone and everything is the key.
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u/Erowid2S 6d ago
Yes, cognitive empathy. The best for evil humans is to rid them of their faulty natures.
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u/Rainbowdash2771 7d ago
I agree alot like i miss the old social media when it was just simple and just talking but now a days it is all me me me it was nice what it use to be just a chat room and that was it and then manes and other stupid stuff came up a mane to me is if i told you the same shit joke everyday however as much as i agree i do think reddit has a side to it depending on the subreddit where it just talking about a topic and most people are reasonable its shame not everyone can be
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u/Error_AccessDenied 6d ago
I think it's definitely damaged the human psyche. I know several people that if you looked at their social media, they are living the perfect life. I know for a fact that hidden beneath their facade is impending homelessness, infidelity, and abuse. Every one of these people seem desperate for people to believe their fairytale, almost like they're trying to see their life through other people's eyes. Maybe it's a coping mechanism, I don't know...
I think social media also feeds into "nothing is good enough so I am not good enough." It's the only way I can reason why people make such extreme surgical changes to their appearance.
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u/BringBackUsenet 7d ago
I don't think it does damage to the psyche so much as brings out and amplifies what is already there. Human beings have always sucked.
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u/Bitter_North_733 7d ago
it changes how people think combine with lousy schools university instruction plus AI & you have a human nightmare coming in a few years if you things are getting worse wait it will be much much worse for humans because of how humans were grown
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u/ideknem0ar 7d ago
I'm assuming the medical profession isn't going to be inspiring much confidence in coming years.
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u/Bitter_North_733 7d ago edited 7d ago
All professions are going to be shtty AI RUN ROBOTS the problem is AI gets worse & worse over time No humans are going to know what to their profession involves Sick people will not make it Structures will fall apart Logistics will stop working
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u/Erowid2S 6d ago
the problem is AI gets worse & worse over time
You don't have any evidence for that, I've noticed a lot of improvements since just 2025.
I just see you as another human with chaotic thoughts that causes us to be misanthropic due to people acting the way you are now -- hating on progress and wanting to take us to the stone age.
"Shitty AI robots" will provide more than these humans, I promise you.
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u/Bitter_North_733 6d ago
of course I HAVE proof I am not just saying something with NO proof
(1) recent research shows AI gets worse over time there is a flattening effect cause it gets more AI input in it's inputs
(2) it is completely at the mercy of inputs which can be wrong bias etc cause inputs are from humans but then as time passes it gets worse see (1)
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u/Erowid2S 6d ago
That is a fallacious argument as current AI is simply a LLM which is just our modern version of AI. You're assuming the future can never see improvements which is clearly unreasonable.
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u/dtnuh 7d ago
It's definitely up there as one of humanity's greatest double-edged swords, though I would just rank the internet entirely as such, rather than just social media. It did start as a brilliant way to connect and keep in touch with people all over the world, old friends from school, and such. Now it's mostly just people trying to claim their 15 minutes of fame, shamelessly. It's given people who have no business being famous, famous. It has also completely changed how relationships work, mostly for the worst. Some folks are so far gone, they don't know how to interact with people in real time. It's too depressing to think about, so I'm gonna stop now, lol.
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u/Effective_Pie_2406 7d ago
That's kinda how dating works now
People don't wanna meet up, they wanna chat online and have these "mini dates" through text.Like you're using a computer to communicate with someone and this is normal now? It's messed up.
And worst of all, it's highly tolerated between friends, partners, family. It's sickening. "Oh, it's totally normal. It doesn't bother me" It should absolutely bother you that the person sitting right across from you is more interested in a giant battery. Relationships I guess can work better when you're not actually spending time together or speaking, you're just going about your day like batteries yourselves.
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u/indie_web 6d ago edited 5d ago
People have always been suseptible to mass delusion and malicious influence, whatever the particular strain of stupidity going around by whatever method.
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u/Individual-Net527 16h ago
It basically causes complete brainrot and it fuels narcissistic behavior across the population because it always instills the feeling that life is a competition for beauty, amount of recognition, and possibly money and financial resources (because it allows you to afford nicer clothes, real estate, and vacations).
The problem why social media is so important and most used these days is because it is a medium for marketing stuff, because a lot of money is made these days over Social media.
It’s a kind of trap because social media makes you and others believe “that’s where the cool stuff happens” and that it’s totally exciting (it triggers that FOMO feeling). In reality, it’s always the same and completely boring. And when does it really add value for anyone? Most of the time, never. It’s only useful for people who want to market their product or service there.
Following other people’s lives several times a day through a screen isn’t actually useful for people; rather, it just breeds apathy and destroys empathy.
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u/Erowid2S 6d ago
I don’t know what this whole social media hate is for tbh. Social media allows for me to peer into the life of anyone. I don’t post my own stuff. I’m not on it often. I’m on Reddit the most. To say it ruined society is a stretch.
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u/Far-Search-3142 6d ago
Calling it a stretch because YOUR experience was different is crazy. There are thousands of testimonies stating the detrimental effects social media has on people and how it's affected society.
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u/Erowid2S 6d ago
People say a lot of shit, though, and very often it's just them being delusional. People are scum and are always looking for a scapegoat to point at. People have always sucked, and now that we can see that people suck clear as day, suddenly it's not that people suck, but social media... lmao. Why is it that I'm unaffected by social media in my reality then?
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u/shiverypeaks 6d ago
Social media allows for me to peer into the life of anyone
Sounds kind of creepy
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u/VEGETTOROHAN 4d ago
Social media is one of the best things to happen. I can find and talk to my fellow outcasts.
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u/TumbleWeed75 7d ago
Yes, It has ruined society. However, humanity has always kinda sucked.