based16z says social media platforms are designed to defeat your self-control “I wasn’t especially interested in participating in that world. It wasn’t helping me make money or giving me anything else I needed.” “If I have an app on my phone, I’ll spend three hours scrolling. I don’t have the self-control to avoid it, so I have to cut it out completely.” “I don’t even keep YouTube on my phone. I use it occasionally to show a friend an old video, but I don’t follow the YouTube meta.” “Using a consumer app especially social media or video is an adversarial game between you and the person who owns it.” “Ads, user-generated content and other forms of promotion financialize your attention: ‘I have this person captivated by the screen. What can I buy from their consciousness?’” “Platforms initially optimize for user value while growing, but the end goal is always monetizing the audience.” “Twitter is fun, creative and sometimes gives me profitable ideas but I would probably still be better off not using it.”