Although I generally agree here, I wouldn't say there's "no" social. Some platforms are more social than others, and it's interesting to compare them... Like h

Although I generally agree here, I wouldn't say there's "no" social. Some platforms are more social than others, and it's interesting to compare them... Like having an argument/discussion in comments (where you're not optimizing for likes) can be somewhat social. Or being a fan of some creator can be a legitimate form of (para)socialness (especially if you have some "real" friends who are also fans). I think where it gets very, very unsocial is when platforms (1) overoptimize towards doomscrolling/engagement, (2) when they try to "capture" social elements through various feedback mechanisms (e.g. all these other reactions and actions that can be done besides simply commenting or liking), and (3) maybe when a platform is so big that people/organizations are encouraged to post there for some monetary or other value it may give them (rather than simply to engage/interact). Although the root cause of things like hatespeech or misinformation is people rather than platforms, I'd say the root cause of unsocialness (or disconnection) is absolutely platforms (e.g. their algorithms, dark design patterns, monetary incentives, etc).