The internet runs on ads.
Ad companies pay for all the “free” popular social media we use. Ad companies dictate to social media what their clients want their ads to be associated with, not associated with, and drive media of all kinds to push inflammatory and click-bait content that drives engagement and views. It’s why you indirectly can’t swear, talk about suicide, drugs, death, or violence. Sure, you technically can unless ToS prohibits it, but if companies tell their ad hosts they don’t want to be associated with someone talking about guns, the content discussing guns gets fewer ads, fewer ads = less revenue, low-revenue gets pushed to the bottom.
So lowbrow political rage bait, science denialism, and fake conspiracies drives people to interact and then gets pushed to the top because it gets ad revenue. Content that delves into critical thought and requires introspection or contemplation languishes.
Ads are destroying society because stupid and rage sells views.
Follow the money. Advertisement exists because businesses demand it.
Your post is literally shooting the messenger.
The messenger is delivering poison. The messenger is the problem.
Who’s paying for and giving them the poison? Corporations.
Yeah, corpos pushing products are using ads, but they’re not the ones determining the engagement algorithm that puts the ragebait in front of you.
And who’s telling/paying them to do that? Corporations.
Both suck, I hear you, but let’s place the blame at the source.
Corporations LOVE that you hate their agencies instead of them. Much like how bands love that people hate Ticketmaster instead of them.