According to ex-manager Tim Kendall, Facebook has deliberately designed its products in such a way that they make users dependent — addictive similar to cigarettes.
The former Facebook monetization manager, Tim Kendall, testified to a House of Representatives subcommittee on consumer protection and trade on Thursday.
Kendall says, in fact, tobacco companies initially only tried to increase the amount of nicotine in cigarettes, but then they realized that it was not enough to create addiction. So they also introduced sugar and menthol to keep the smoke in the lungs for longer. Facebook’s strategy, Kendall explained, was similar: Facebook builds algorithms that have facilitated the spread of misinformation, encouraged divisive rhetoric, and laid the groundwork for a “mental health crisis.” — reported by Business Insider.
Kendell also remarked, “The social media services that I and others have built over the past 15 years have served to tear people apart with alarming speed and intensity. At the very least, we have eroded our collective understanding — at worst, I fear we are pushing ourselves to the brink of a civil war.”
Kendall, who was the monetization manager between 2006 and 2010, says that today Facebook employees tried to get as much exposure as possible — and then turn it into profit. The group was not interested in the health of users. According to Kendall, the focus was purely on profit.
At present, Facebook has not released any official response to the words of its former manager.
