We need to reclaim the internet from big tech companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon, says Geert Lovink, professor of Art and Network Cultures (UvA and AUAS). In his new book, 'Stuck on the Platform', he explains how this is possible. 'We need alternative platforms that serve society instead of listed companies.'
The internet started out so innocently in the 1990s, as an open space offering the free and unimpeded exchange of ideas, opinions, and even goods. Until massive internet companies such as Facebook, Amazon and Twitter took control of the ideal. Now these platforms have not only taken users hostage, but society as a whole as well. That is why we need to reclaim this public domain from big tech. This, in a nutshell, is the message put forward the new book by Geert Lovink.
The act of 'reclaiming' will also need to be literal, in a sense. From conglomerates such as Meta (the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) to physical infrastructure such as Google's data centres and the privatised internet cables on the sea floor - all of it must be dismantled. Lovink admits that it won't be easy. 'But we must do it, before it's too late.'
Despite the book's occasionally disturbing message, Stuck on the Platform is a real page-turner, full of incisive observations and pithy one-liners that act as memes and are scattered throughout the book. Examples include: Being popular on Twitter is like being popular at the mental hospital, and Quitting is a strength, not a weakness. One of the first phrases in the book is even rule no. 1 at Alcoholics Anonymous: We admit that we are powerless - that our lives have become unmanageable.
Is the situation so bad that we are literally addicted to these platforms?
'Not everybody, of course,' Lovink qualifies. 'Social media is most devastating for people aged 18-30, mostly women. That is the largest population group in the world. And if many of them are suffering from stress, anxiety, a warped self-image or even depression, then that's cause for concern - especially since these symptoms can become long-term if they develop during people's formative years. In men, the problem is becomes externalised and more aggressive, and surfaces as trolling, shaming and pure hatred. If social media is not the cause of these problems, it certainly exacerbates them.'
But we're trapped - stuck - on these platforms. Why is that?
'The tech giants use cunning techniques to make us visit their platforms for as long and as often as possible. Facebook, for example, allows the expression of only limited positive emotions, such as a thumbs-up or a hug. So people are still worried about whether they have enough followers or likes. At the same time, the fear of being 'cancelled' has grown into an existential threat. The algorithms are programmed to prioritise negative messages, targeting our primitive emotions. The strange thing is that, although there is plenty of attention in society to the collective phenomena of social media - such as data leaks, privacy violations or runaway cancel culture - the psychological effects on individuals have been all but ignored.'
What role should platforms play in 'Society 5.0,' the future ideal that puts people - not technology - at the forefront?
