There have been many news articles recently about social media for evil: How Facebook, Twitter, Google, and even Instagram have been abused for coordinated misinformation paid social media or advertising to influence our political system.

The lack of ethics of social media platforms is bigger than the problem of individuals ruining their ability to focus and unable to separate from their smartphones. Now that social media platforms are essentially pay to play or have been transformed in what is being called the “Advertising Economy,” our human attention is being sold to the highest bidder, whether it is to sell us products like flavored water or to influence our political views and ultimately chip away at civil society.

What can we do?

On an individual level, we can focus on the consumption area. We can become more intentional about not being so hooked to our social media and mobile apps and more critical consumers of information, especially before we share it. Although that is not enough.

Read the full article at Beth Kanter's Blog