Former Facebook executive: Social networks destroy normal human life

Several former Facebook executives recently revealed that social media has destroyed normal human communication and social forms, causing people to give up the management of their lives and lose their souls. These former executives of technology companies feel deeply guilty for their participation and development of social media. They warned people not to indulge in social media, as it would lead them astray.

Chamath Palihapitiya was the vice president of Facebook's user growth division and left in 2011. In November this year, he said at an event at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business: "The rapid feedback loop we created (in social media) destroys the normal way of society... (Social media communications) do not have normal interpersonal communication and cooperation, but rather convey misleading content and distorted facts."

“You are programmed when you use social media”

"This is a global problem. It erodes the foundation of normal interactions between people," Palihapitiya said.

The former Facebook executive also said that he never allowed his children to use social media to avoid being harmed by it, and he also felt very guilty for having participated in the construction of Facebook.

To reduce his losses, Palihapitiya set up a foundation to use his previous income from Facebook to help those in need.

Palihapitiya urged people not to lose their souls when using social media. He said that when people use social media, "your behavior has been unconsciously programmed without your knowledge. Now you have to decide whether to give up or protect your will and keep your IQ from being manipulated by (social media)."

Palihapitiya is not the first person to expose the problems of social media. Facebook's first president Sean Parker also said at a press conference recently that "out of my conscience, I am against people using social media tools."

Facebook currently has nearly 2 billion daily users, a mind-boggling number. Because of Facebook, many people check Facebook content as soon as they wake up and as soon as they go to bed. Some people already feel uncomfortable with this abnormal lifestyle, but they keep falling into it.

Was social media really created just to connect people and share information? Or is there some other, lesser-known purpose? Is it ultimately designed to occupy as much of a user's time and brain as possible? Parker's answer is yes. He says that's exactly what many social media have done and continue to do.

Social media damages intelligence and makes people lose their souls

Parker said that when Facebook was first established, some people told him: "I don't use social media. I value real interaction and social interaction with others in my life. I value my own time and existence, as well as interpersonal intimacy..." Then Parker said to them: "Wait, you will be on Facebook. We will eventually capture you."

Parker said that his words have come true for many people. Those who said they would never use Facebook eventually got drawn to it. Even his own mother, who barely knows how to use a computer, added Parker as a Facebook "friend."

Parker said that when he first built Facebook, he didn't know that Facebook would grow into what it is today and have nearly 2 billion users. "It has changed your relationship with society and people... It interferes with people's work and life in weird ways. Only God knows what it has done to children's brains."

Parker said that when they build apps like Facebook, their goal is to "capture and consume as much of your time and attention as possible. That means we want to give you a little dopamine (brain boost) every once in a while, like having someone like a picture you posted, or comment on it. Then, you post more pictures and more content... repeat this over and over again, hooking you in... you see or expect more likes and comments."

Parker said Facebook use can become addictive: You're always looking for something to laugh or interest you, or to get likes, etc. The first step to breaking free from this obsession, he said, is to admit you have a problem.

Parker said that the information feedback loop designed by social media is like hackers controlling people's computers. They all take advantage of certain vulnerabilities in human psychology. The specific method is that if you post a picture or information and don't receive likes or comments, you may regret the content you posted and doubt your judgment. You are deeply influenced and controlled by these "likes" and comments. It's that simple.

“The designers of these apps — me, Mark Zuckerberg, Kevin Systrom of Instagram, that’s us — knew full well that we were exploiting human psychology, knew full well what we were doing, but we did it anyway,” Parker said.

Tristan Harris, a former Google employee, made a similar statement. He said that these technology companies control the minds of users. "Product designers take advantage of your psychological vulnerabilities and use them against you in order to attract your attention to the product."

Parker is currently the chairman of the Parker Foundation, an organization that focuses on life sciences, global public health and other areas.

What to do

As executives and employees of social media companies continue to expose the harm caused by social media, some experts suggest that people need to cut off all ties with social media from time to time.

Whether it is a computer screen or a mobile phone screen, you must turn them off, return to the real world, and regain control of your life, instead of handing yourself over to social media or electronic devices, becoming their slaves and wasting your life.