What obligation do social media platforms have to the greater good?
- jeanne7629
- Jan 19
- 1 min read
This talk gave me genuine goosebumps (the good kind!)
What struck me most is how Eli Pariser reframes the conversation. Instead of focusing only on what platforms should stop doing, he asks a more generative question: what do we actually need them to do, for the greater good?
One idea that really stayed with me is that spaces shape behaviour. Silicon Valley has long held the belief that unstructured spaces naturally lead to healthy interaction. But in the physical world, that’s rarely true and online spaces are no different. The environments we design subtly influence how we treat one another.
Pariser references Michele Gelfand, the author of Rule Makers, Rule Breakers, which explores how societies balance freedom and constraint. Too loose, and things fracture. Too tight, and they suffocate. That tension feels very alive in our digital spaces. See here for the post on that fantastic book!
In his words, what feels most urgent here is this: we can’t keep optimising platforms for individuals if, in the process, we erode the social fabric we all depend on. Humanity moves forward when we find better ways to rely on, understand, and trust one another and that doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by design.
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