The Destruction of Connection: Toward Emergent Engagement in Social Media
Social media promises to connect us, yet its reality often leaves us isolated, disengaged, and misaligned with our interests. Instead of fostering meaningful interactions and relationships, platforms prioritize shallow engagement driven by profit-centric algorithms. It’s time for a new approach: Emergent Engagement, a philosophy where platforms are designed to foster intentional, meaningful interactions that align with users’ true interests and contributions. The Problem: Algorithms Ignore Your Intentions Social media platforms have vast amounts of data on their users, including the content they create. Platforms like YouTube could easily use this data to tailor recommendations that reflect your genuine interests. Yet, feeds remain cluttered with irrelevant, sensationalized, or addictive content designed to maximize time-on-site rather than serve your needs. For creators especially, this disconnect is glaring. You might have hundreds of videos exploring specific themes, but the platfor...