False economy What’s in it for me? Understand what makes the

10 arguments for deleting social media
What’s in it for me? Learn how to regain your 
autonomy online.
In the online world, cats are as much associated 
with memes as with meows, and they seem to 
achieve virality with the same unconcern and 
nonchalance that they bring to other favorite 
activities, be it munching some catnip or taking a 
catnap. Dogs, however, haven’t reached this 
same level of online prevalence. So why cats?
Well, it may have something to do with 
autonomy. 
Unlike 
dogs, 
which 
humans 
domesticated millennia ago, cats came to us of 
their own accord and, at least in part, tamed 
themselves. This feline tendency toward self-
determination is still apparent today, especially 
online.
Dog memes often showcase feats of training 
and discipline; cat memes, in contrast, are cute 
and hilarious because they capture odd and 
unpredictable actions.
So what is it about this online incorrigibility that 
we find so irresistible?
In today’s high-tech world, it’s not at all 
unreasonable to fear that we’re losing our free 
will, or that we’re being manipulated at every 
turn – that, in short, we’re becoming more like 
dogs and less like cats.
These blinks are about how to achieve feline 
autonomy and avoid canine dependence in the 
online sphere. They’re not only an impassioned 
argument for deleting your social media 
accounts; they’re an education in exactly how 
major companies like Google and Facebook are 
manipulating you at every turn.
In these blinks, you’ll also learn

Why social media is a BUMMER;

Why randomness trumps reliability; and

Why Silicon Valley kids attend Waldorf 
schools.
Argument 1: Social media can manipulate 
your behavior, putting your free will under 
threat.
You may not know it, but you’re in a cage. It’s a 
tiny cage – so small that it fits snugly in your 
pocket – but that doesn’t mean there’s not 
enough space for you to slip right into it.
What’s more, like a lab animal, you’re being 
watched, manipulated and analyzed while inside 
this cage.
If this sounds a bit paranoid, just consider the 
facts. You, like nearly everyone else, probably 
own a smartphone – that’s the cage. Naturally, 
you’re not literally trapped inside, but whenever 
you use it to log in to social media, you are being 
watched and manipulated, not by researchers in 
white coats, but by algorithms.
The data on you compiled by these algorithms – 
when you log in, how long you stay logged in for, 
what you buy – is then compared with the data 
of millions of other people. This enables the 
algorithms to make predictions about how you 
will act.
How? Let’s say that an algorithm, after 
comparing a boatload of data, reveals that 
people who eat the foods you eat tend to find a