Ask HN: Is social media a broken idea or simply inefficient for our needs? - stirrat
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krapp
Social media is perfectly adequate for most people's needs - organizing
groups, communicating with people, browsing shared news and interests, and so
on.

Realistically, social media is just a multimedia communication paradigm, and
asking if social media is a broken idea is kind of like asking if the
telephone is a broken idea. Plenty of people are getting value out of it,
including most HN users, I'd bet.

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27182818284
I find that it was not inefficient, but _too_ efficient. Like our brains
weren't ready for that dopamine hit of a Like, Retweet, and other instant
feedback of validation.

Same thing with witch hunts online. Don't forget the famous "We did, Reddit!"
where people were able to come together as a mob in an easier fashion than
ever before (round the clock, and not defined by geographical borders)

We weren't, and still aren't, ready for it so we're struggling. This isn't
even really social media specific, but social media's adoption was faster than
any other technology I can think of in history. Like dwarfs phone, radio, and
TV adoption.

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jascii
I think it might be useful to be a little more specific in your question:

Social media is a broad term and (in)efficiency can mean just about anything
depending on context. Last but not least: What are our needs in your opinion?

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stirrat
You’re right. Although in this case I asked vaguely so as the question would
be open and people could insert their own connotations.

