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

Argument 7: Negative emotions are the 
lifeblood of social media.
Spending time in a world without context or 
empathy is a definite recipe for unhappiness. But 
BUMMER companies are draining your 
happiness in other ways, too.
Social media platforms inevitably establish 
unreasonably high standards for physical beauty 
and social standing. After all, online, it’s not just 
your neighbors or your colleagues that you’ll be 
comparing yourself to; it’s everyone on that 
social media platform. And let’s face it – you’re 
unlikely to be the most gorgeous or 
accomplished individual out there.
In fact, Facebook researchers all but boasted 
about their ability to make people unhappy, 
without the targeted individuals even realizing it.
Why gloat about such a thing? Well, keep in 
mind that Facebook’s users are its product; the 
ability to manipulate users, whether for better or 
for worse, will naturally appeal to Facebook’s 
real clients, the advertisers whose goal is to 
manipulate potential customers into buying their 
product.
Of course, Facebook emphasizes the good it’s 
doing in the world – the social connection and 
global network it’s made possible. But here’s the 
thing: there’s no reason that these obvious pros 
couldn’t exist without the definite cons imposed 
by BUMMER. Why agree to have your actions 
surveilled and your data sold in exchange for 
social connection when you could, plausibly, 
simply 
connect 
online 
without 
being 
manipulated?
One reason is that BUMMER is the only game in 
town. We may know that social media is making 
us unhappy, but, competitive beings that we are, 
we log on and play the game anyway, trying to 
post the most fascinating content or to gain the 
most followers. After all, everyone else seems to 
be doing it, too.
But competing against everyone else – and it 
really is almost everyone – is a surefire way to 
lose, and feeling like a loser is yet another 
reason to feel unhappy.
BUMMER platforms want you to feel unhappy. 
After all, if you were content and simply 
spending time with friends in real life, you’d have 
no reason to engage with BUMMER. If you’re 
constantly feeling anxious and inadequate, 
however, you’ll be more likely to contribute to the 
BUMMER machine – logging on to check how 
many likes your picture has generated, for 
example. This keeps you addicted and enables 
BUMMER companies to rake in ever-higher 
profits.