The founding president of Facebook, Sean Parker, recently made a revelation that exposed the way the social networking giant has been misusing human vulnerability for profits. When they founded Facebook, they knew they were creating an addictive platform, but with recent measures imposed on users by the company, Sean Parker feels it is a bad idea to exploit the vulnerability prevalent in human psychology. Parker shared his criticism of the company during an event organized by Axios in Philadelphia when he showed up to give a speech about cancer therapies and advances thereof.
Unintended consequences
According to his comment, Parker believes that when a network grows to achieve over 2 billion users, there is need to institute control measures that would prevent unintended consequences. But instead of Facebook pursuing such a process, the social networking network has been taking advantage of human psychology vulnerability. The growth exhibited by Facebook has the potential to change one’s relationships with society and this probably also interferes with the productivity of some users in different ways. Parker expressed concern over fears that Facebook is not doing enough to ensure children are protected from the harmful effects of falling for the many traps the social network has attracted over time.
Consuming conscious attention
Additionally, Sean Parker revealed that at the time they launched Facebook, the objective of building the network was to ensure they were able to consume as much conscious time as possible from users. It is also this mindset that inspired the creation of features like share and like button, which impacts users through a dopamine hit that encourages them to continue sharing more content. Basically, Facebook is a social validation loop, and this is meant to exploit the vulnerability of human psychology. Therefore, it would be an unethical practice to remain silent as the site risks damaging the lives of many who feel indebted to subscribing to the hype but lack the support to satisfy their thirst for validation.
As one of the founders of Facebook, Parker gave an account based on his recollection of the growth the social site has undergone over the years and the power it yields over users. His insider’s look at the way social networks operate has revealed how they are purposely designed to hurt the brains of users. His perspective is a priceless exposition of the perspective gaining pace with the debate on the power of social networks rising. He also said he is worried he might be sounding too much alarm about the way Facebook and other social networks are being run.
Parker founded the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, which he also chairs and when he spoke about the effects of Facebook, he was attending an Axios event in Philadelphia which explored the topic about the acceleration of cancer innovation. While in the green room, he pointed that he has started to find reasons to show objection on the way social media is operating. He regrets that despite understanding they were to exploit human psychology vulnerability, they still proceeded with the idea and now it poses huge risks to millions.
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