I don't think the problem is social media per se. I think the problem is the ad-funded business model. Because the business only gets revenue from attention, i

I don't think the problem is social media per se. I think the problem is the ad-funded business model. Because the business only gets revenue from attention, it needs to create more attention. So it engages in these really harmful tactics (knowingly) to create addiction and engagement, because that's how it makes money. If everyone had to pay for their social media and it didn't display ads, the problem wouldn't exist. Social media companies would be incentivised to reduce your engagement with their platform. They would pay attention to what their customers wanted (the user, not the advertiser) and probably give more of a shit about our mental health. We see the same with journalism, where the ad-driven business model produces clickbait, outrage porn and the enshittification of the reading experience. The whole internet would work much better if we just banned advertising on it. I know this is impractical, but it's true.