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Likes, and the like, undermine the independent thinking of the population. Specifically, social feedback is destroying (has destroyed) civility and citizen problem-solving. “Likes” are a narcotic to the mind of a person aching to make a connection. As a result, social media naturally teaches people to focus on them. But the consequences of this design are grave. Individuals eventually lose, or likely never find, the capacity to find relevance by learning to bring value (merit) to others.

Yet, identity has become the social value/merit substitute. America now teeters, and social media has played a large part in its disintegration. Identity is a horrible substitute for value creation. For example, identity empowers another person to choose winners and losers. It should be obvious that this is how oppressors are created. Still, this unjust negative result is small potatoes in the grand scheme. Instead, people, writ large, will additionally fail to seek the skills to keep their civilization functioning. Then, it will collapse. No one will like that.

Here’s a transgender example:

“I was sharing all of my changes and the amount of positivity I got was insane,” he said. “I was getting millions and millions of views, hundreds of thousands of likes per video and before that, I was just getting abuse, before that I was getting hate.”

“I kind of fell for that … ‘Maybe this is the only way I feel love, I feel valid is by getting this attention,’” he continued. “I kind of went along with that and thought, ‘Maybe these people are right’ and that’s what really pushed me to transition.”

Former trans influencer blames TikTok stars for rise in gender ideology: ‘A trend that destroys lives’

But it isn’t right.

Likes do not make a civilization. Value and merit do. Use social media to pursue objective truth instead. That’s real value.