Jeff Sites

A trending inspirational video has lead me down the rabbit hole. Actually, it was just a couple Google searches. It turns out there are quite a few videos, films, articles, etc, using the phrase "Antisocial Network" when describing the ills of mass social network participation. It's clever, right - what they did with the word?

I can see how these networks could be problematic, detrimental even, to personal relationships and physical fitness. But to call them "antisocial" is a bit of an exaggeration, and it leaves us without a good term for anything far worse. So let's agree that Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, et al, are "asocial." Let's reserve "antisocial" to describe networks that encourage socially antagonistic, masochistic behavior. Those that cater to our basest impulses of desire and destruction. The Playstation Network, for instance.