Comparisonism & Social Media
I was brainstorming on a new social media platform I'd love to create.
I want to create a social media platform for humans and relationships—not an algorithm that preys on addiction, insecurity, anxiety, loneliness, and fear.
Do you know what blocker I hit in my back-of-napkin business model? It wasn't the financials or the cost of scale. Here it is... This hurts:
Billions of people want to feel numb and insulated, and they aren't willing to leave to try something different.
That's a cost of switching that I had yet to consider.
At my worst moments, I want to be numbed with a feed of moderately entertaining content despite the risk that it will likely produce a deep-rooted dissatisfaction and comparisonism within me.
Social media has become ANTI-social media. I'm sure I'm not the first to turn that phrase, but it summarizes a valid and painful point.
We humans are so terrible at choosing what's best for us. Most often, what we need is the opposite of our desires. We don't return to social media because it helps us but because it numbs us.
"But hey, Paul, what about this social media platform thingy? Do you think it'll work?"
Yes, I do—not in an addictive way, but in a restorative, healthy, connected way. In a way that will provide value for billions of people. Not everyone will want it, but many will.
VC and PE investors; my DMs are open. Joking, not joking.