G. Elliott Morris makes a provocative claim that cuts through the noise of digital fatigue: the internet has stopped being a place to connect and has become a machine designed solely to consume your attention. He argues that the shift wasn't accidental but a deliberate corporate pivot around 2016, turning "social" platforms into "anti-social" engines that prioritize algorithmic engagement over human connection. For the busy professional trying to reclaim their focus, this is not just a lifestyle tip; it is a necessary defense against a system engineered to erode your cognitive capacity.
The Algorithmic Turn
Morris begins by dismantling the nostalgia many hold for the early days of the web. He contrasts the original vision of social media—a reverse chronological feed of friends and acquaintances—with the current reality where "posts now seem more fake, more negative, and more algorithmic." He notes that the experience has fundamentally shifted since the mid-2010s, a period that aligns with the broader historical rise of the attention economy where user data became the primary commodity.
The author writes, "Social media websites today use algorithms to select posts to show you from a corpus of hundreds of millions of candidate posts — the vast majority from people you would not socialize with in real life." This observation is critical because it reframes the user's experience: you are no longer the customer, nor even the product in the traditional sense; you are the raw material being processed. Morris argues that the "social" aspect has been cannibalized by shareholder pressure and artificial intelligence, transforming these platforms into "consumption media" rather than communication tools.
"Social media services in 2025 feel completely different than they did 5 or 10 years ago. Posts now seem more fake, more negative, and more algorithmic — and, notably, less social."
The piece effectively highlights how the "algorithmic turn" has severed the link between content and community. Morris points out that the technology behind these recommendations, specifically embedding tables and transformers, has become so sophisticated that it can predict engagement with terrifying accuracy. He suggests that the result is a feed dominated by content designed to trigger a reaction, not to inform or connect. While critics might argue that users still find genuine value and community in niche corners of these platforms, Morris counters that the structural design of the feed actively works against these positive outcomes by amplifying the most extreme content.
The Cost of Engagement
The argument deepens when Morris moves from the mechanics of the feed to the tangible harms inflicted on the user. He identifies four specific damages: affective polarization, the motivation for political violence, threats to mental health, and a decline in critical thinking. He leans heavily on the work of sociologist Chris Bail, describing social media as a "prism" that distorts reality.
As G. Elliott Morris puts it, "The social media prism takes in one image of the world as captured through massive amounts of text or video that are entered into the platform by other users, and then spits out a new vision of reality tailored exclusively for you." This metaphor is powerful because it explains why two people looking at the same platform can have radically different perceptions of the world. The algorithm does not show you what is true; it shows you what keeps you scrolling.
The commentary here is particularly sharp regarding the link between online rhetoric and real-world violence. Morris discusses the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk, noting how the killer justified his actions by claiming he "had enough of [Charlie Kirk's] hatred." He connects this to a broader pattern where algorithms reward identity-based anger, conditioning users to view political opponents not as neighbors but as existential threats.
"Platforms condition users to see opponents not as neighbors, members of their social network, but as members of far off-tribes that are a threat to their own."
This section is heavy with the human cost of digital design. Morris argues that the "slippery slope" from outrage to violence is facilitated by the speed at which fringe ideas can "jump" from tiny subcultures to the main feed. He notes that while political violence is statistically rare, the support for it is inflated by these systems. A counterargument worth considering is that offline factors and pre-existing grievances are the primary drivers of violence, with social media acting merely as an accelerant rather than a root cause. However, Morris insists that the algorithmic amplification is a distinct and necessary condition for the current scale of polarization.
Reclaiming Focus
Having established the problem, Morris offers a personal case study in withdrawal. He describes his own transition from a four-hour daily usage habit to less than 45 minutes, a change he credits with restoring his ability to do deep work. He admits that the utility of these platforms for career discovery was real—his own career began when an editor found him on Twitter in 2015—but argues that the cost of staying has now outstripped the benefit.
He writes, "With a few simple (not necessarily easy) changes, I've been able to reduce my screen time to 45 minutes per day or less... These changes have improved my focus, increased the quality and quantity of my work." This is a pragmatic appeal to the knowledge worker. The author suggests that the "anti-social web" is not just a societal ill but a personal productivity killer. He draws on the work of computer scientist Cal Newport, framing the solution not as a total rejection of technology, but a strategic retreat from the algorithmic feed.
"Unless you have to use these platforms for work, it's time to quit them — or minimize the time you spend on them — for good."
The strength of this conclusion lies in its specificity. Morris doesn't just say "social media is bad"; he provides a timeline of when the utility vanished (circa 2016-2017) and a concrete metric for success (reducing time to under an hour). He acknowledges the difficulty of this shift, noting that the platforms are designed to be addictive, but insists that the "spare time" is there if one chooses to stop feeding the machine.
"Social media is all algorithms now."
Bottom Line
G. Elliott Morris delivers a compelling, evidence-backed indictment of the modern social media landscape, successfully arguing that the "social" in social media has been replaced by an algorithmic imperative to maximize engagement at any cost. The piece's greatest strength is its refusal to treat this as a mere distraction, instead framing it as a structural force driving polarization, mental health crises, and a decline in critical thinking. Its primary vulnerability lies in the difficulty of execution; while the argument for quitting is sound, the piece offers less guidance on how to navigate a world where professional networking and news consumption are increasingly inextricably linked to these very platforms.