I’m starting to like Mark Zuckerberg

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Mark Zuckerberg’s empire. “Hate” is too strong a word, but for a long time, I’ve had this deep-rooted annoyance with Mark as a business mogul. Why? Well, I’ve felt that his virtue signaling (community! privacy! connections!) was just that — virtue signaling — high-flying ideals and promises that failed to fully acknowledge the threats social media poses to mental health and privacy.

Of course, it’s not Mark’s problem how exactly social media is used. Like with many other tools, foods, substances, or even scientific discoveries, there can be both good and bad uses. Mark can’t be held responsible for the entire supply-demand chain and all the abuses it produces. But still, whenever I heard him talk, I felt he lacked basic self-awareness. He didn’t seem to give two shits about the responsibility that comes with his power and influence.

I also despised Zuck’s delusional ambitions when it came to new ideas and products. The Metaverse was overhyped, and I still consider its appeal non-existent, save for some unique uses in niche applications or specific industries. At a very existential level, why promote a fake world when our experience of the real one is already being threatened by our addiction to devices and scrolling through social media?