• by Steven Rosenbaum , Featured Contributor, September 16, 2024

At Symphony Space, on New York’s Upper West Side, Soren Gordhamer, founder of Wisdom 2.0, and Tristan Harris, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, brought to the stage a conversation that is reshaping how we think about the digital world and the generations raised in it.

Titled "The Invitation of Our Times: Mindfulness, AI, and the Future of Life," the event focused on AI, mindfulness, and one of the most urgent issues of our time: how social media is shaping the minds, lives, and futures of young people.

Tristan Harris, widely recognized for his work in the film "The Social Dilemma," offered a sobering view of the digital landscape.

In a world where social media dictates not just how youth interact but how they think, the stakes have never been higher. “We’re on the Big Tobacco timeline with social media,” Harris said, drawing a parallel between the historical manipulation of public health by tobacco companies and today’s social media giants exploiting human psychology for profit.

He emphasized that as the most active users, youth are the most vulnerable to these tactics. What began as platforms designed to connect us have morphed into something far more insidious.

In the early days of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, social media was hailed as a democratizing force. The promise was simple: anyone could share their voice, connect with people globally, and access information freely. It was exciting, empowering — and it felt good.

But very design of these platforms has evolved from fostering connection to manipulating attention.

"The way you still work at TikTok or Facebook every day is you convince yourself of the story that we're just giving people what they want," he explained. The truth, however, is darker: "We made them lonely in the first place, and now they're stuck in a loop."

For young people raised in this environment, the impact has been profound. Social media became less about connection and more about performance. The platforms are built on addictive features such as the "like" button, endless scrolling, and algorithmic rewards that trigger dopamine hits.

The result is an entire generation chasing validation through the warped reflection of a “funhouse mirror,” as Harris described it — feeding into a culture of instant gratification and deep-seated insecurity.

Today's teens are described as the loneliest generation — more connected than ever yet more isolated. As rates of anxiety, depression, and loneliness among teenagers and young adults have skyrocketed, the platforms have exploited the psychological vulnerabilities of young people to drive profit.

These platforms prioritize engagement over genuine connection. Social media does not reflect who we are, Harris explained, but who the platform can manipulate us into being.

“Social media is not a mirror of society,” he said. “It's a funhouse mirror that has warped and reflected back the image that we've been getting for so long that we see everybody else caught in that one marshmallow instant gratification thing, that it's confused our sense of who we are.”

For young people, this distortion of reality is especially damaging. Social media platforms have, in effect, trained an entire generation to see themselves through the lens of the platform's algorithm — designed to exploit, not empower.

But it doesn't have to be this way. Harris's vision for the future of social media is one where technology serves to truly connect people rather than exploit them.

What if social media could connect us to real-world events, community gatherings, and meaningful interactions with friends?

Harris imagines a platform designed not for engagement, but for enrichment and real connection — where the algorithms prioritize human well-being, not addiction.

"Imagine opening a social media app and seeing a list of events in your local area," Harris said, where users could be encouraged to participate in community discussions, attend events, and connect in real life with people who share similar values or interests. 

But there must be a fundamental shift in how social media companies operate for this to become a reality. The business model, as it stands, is broken. As long as profit is driven by keeping users glued to their screens, any attempt at reform will be superficial at best.

Harris calls for a complete overhaul — away from an engagement-driven model and toward one that genuinely values the well-being of its users, especially young people.

We've seen this story play out before. Just as the tobacco industry manipulated the public into thinking cigarettes were harmless for decades, social media companies have convinced the world that their platforms are harmless tools for connection.

But the evidence is mounting: these platforms are not neutral. They are actively harming the mental health of our youth, and unless we take decisive action, we risk losing an entire generation to the digital void. “We should learn the lesson and pass a law now that says, let's not have these systems be incentivized to give you things just for what's good at getting your attention,” Harris argued.

The tide may already be turning, with 42 state attorneys general now suing social media companies and advocating for warning labels on these platforms, much like those on tobacco products.

For young people, however, the consequences of inaction are already being felt. It's not just about passing laws or adding regulations. It's about reshaping how we think about technology —  and how we let it shape us.

The next chapter, therefore, will be a fight for the future.

The event ended on a sobering note: the future of social media, AI, and our collective well-being is at a tipping point.

Our youth, who have grown up in this digital ecosystem, are the most vulnerable and the most powerful force for change. They are the ones living in the funhouse mirror, and they are the ones who can demand something better.

Will we allow this generation to be defined by loneliness, addiction, and manipulation? Or will we fight for a future where technology enhances our humanity, rather than exploits it?

The message is clear: the time to act is now. The invitation of our times is not just to be mindful of technology, but to fundamentally reshape it — for the sake of our youth and the future we all share.