The sheer level of damage and instability social media has done to the West in the past decade can only lead one to suppose that it has been intentional and tha

The sheer level of damage and instability social media has done to the West in the past decade can only lead one to suppose that it has been intentional and that there has been a powerful hand behind it. What benefits has it brought about? We know we're increasingly anxious, lonely and isolated despite it, so what "social" benefits have these "social" enterprises actually caused? Because the list of damage is endless, and the list of victims never-ending. Watching politicized animosity, done for the purpose of the researched grandstanding, spill over into universities and public life has been horrifying. Careers and lives ruined for not keeping up with the ever-changing morals of the online mob, culminating in events such as those at Evergreen State College, the Christakis furore at Yale, the constant speech policing because non-adherent political speech now makes others feel "unsafe", etc. People who were once the leaders of progressive movement turned into right-wing nazi bigots over publications that were on-narrative, or ahead of it, when published, now resurrected to be held against them by today's constantly changing standards. Even in this thread, a topic on an objective study of the effects of social media, simply pointing to it has caused an uncontrolled, partisan, shitshow. None of this ends well. A society full of increasingly anxious and isolated people, seeking purpose in online identity groups known for electing the most vitriolic doomsday preachers as leaders, who are increasingly viewing the "other side" as an enemy, armed with a treasure trove of historical tweets/fb posts/etc. to dig through for evidence of their crimes, does not end well. Social media may prove to be the biggest mistake we've ever made.