An open letter to Mark Zuckerberg: crafter of communities
Hi Mark! Just a quick one.
When I receive a notification, I am disrupted. It took me 2 hours to concentrate. Poof — it’s gone. You deemed it necessary to inject yourself into my life, whether I asked for you or not. I know my boss will ‘thank me’ later when I haven’t finished, even though I tried exceptionally hard this time.
Ads. Ads are fucking awful for me. I’m wired to be impulsive, and I often spend money I don’t have on things I don’t need. Because you told me to and I can’t say no. And you make money from that. My partner will ‘thank you’ for that when I feebly try to explain where the money went again.
On Instagram, I worry about ‘reach’ or ‘engagement’… but really… that it won’t be liked by people. I’m not able to share things I like or find cool without worrying. The ecosystem you designed causes me anxiety through an inherent requirement for validation… that I don’t actually want, but I’m wired to need. I grind my teeth, stay awake at night, can’t focus, can’t sleep. Because of anxiety. I thought I left ‘validation’ and ‘wanting to be liked’ at the schoolyard gate, but you brought it back into my life with deafening impact.
My therapist will actually ‘thank you’ for that, as I fill his bank with what little money I have left after the ads have had theirs.
My name is ADHD. For many, I am disability, dysfunction, and disarray.
And oh boy, when I get going, I am one of the worst! Muddying, confusing, and distorting every little detail of your life with my antics. I have no cure. But I can be ‘managed’! Much in the fashion that you would perhaps ‘manage a fish’ to not swim.
Now for the critical part:
The unique, most crucial role of technology has and always will be, to improve our lives. From the discovery of fire to the cure for polio, technology and brilliant minds have always furthered human advancement. Until now.
Mark Zuckerberg, you exclude us from the global society which you desire to build. You don’t think of us, or people like us. You instead discriminate, creating experiences that make our lives harder, not easier.
In 2019, ‘not having Facebook’, is the equivalent of ‘not having a phone’. I tried to get out, but like the song, Hotel California says:
‘You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave’.
But to stand in our defence for a moment.
Why should we leave the party, just because you didn’t think to invite us? Should we be the hermit, the outcast, the pariah? Or should you change to accept us?
There are many like me. What you do to (not for; important distinction) me is right for you, but not for me.
Engagement shouldn’t be the #1 metric for you at Facebook, quality of life should be.
We have little to no option concerning our brains but *YOU* have an ethical duty in how you run your organisation. Please begin to place personalities over profit, I implore you. You have the power to build a society I want to live in. But you can also choose to leave us out. Please don’t, it’s cold out here.
We deserve to feel the warmth of a community too.
/Jack
