It’s the social equivalent of high fructose corn syrup. It’s clearly not as good as real socialization, and when the companies start adding things that benefit their goals, it’s clearly making it worse for you. But for most people, it’s a cheap way to scratch the itch for social interaction, and it’s right there, no need to go all the way to a place or make plans, so people take it and get by but at the sacrifice of their mental health just as eating a pile of HFCS based foods will fill you up for now but sacrifice your physical health.
It’s the social equivalent of high fructose corn syrup. It’s clearly not as good as real socialization, and when the companies start adding things that benefit their goals, it’s clearly making it worse for you. But for most people, it’s a cheap way to scratch the itch for social interaction, and it’s right there, no need to go all the way to a place or make plans, so people take it and get by but at the sacrifice of their mental health just as eating a pile of HFCS based foods will fill you up for now but sacrifice your physical health.