Review of Lanier’s Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts . . . | Gond & Chandravanshi

BOOK REVIEW

Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now
by Jaron Lanier

Henry Holt and Company
2018, 160 pages, ?3,230

Reviewed by Arun Kumar Gond, Ranjan Kumar Chandravanshi

This book highlights the importance of avoiding social media. Author Jaron Lanier, a tech expert, critiques big tech and their exploitative practices. He explains how social media harms freedom, real-life interactions, and productivity while misusing user data for profit. More than a warning; it urges readers to rethink their digital habits and embrace real-life experiences.

In this book, Jaron Lanier presents ten strong reasons/argument to quit social-media. He believes that social-media negatively impacts our lives and that we should break free from it. To explain this, he uses an interesting example of dogs and cats. Dogs are obedient and follow commands, while cats are independent and live on their own terms. Lanier compares social-media users to dogs; as these platforms are designed to keep us hooked. Likes and comments make us return repeatedly, shaping our habits and decisions. The author argues that, instead of being like dogs, we should learn from cats; living freely and making our own choices. Social-media controls our time and attention, reducing our independence. By quitting it, we can regain control over our lives and live more freely.

The first chapter, You Are Losing Your Free Will, explains how modern technology silently controls our decisions. Social-media, smartphones, and smart devices constantly track our data, monitor our habits, and influence our choices without us realizing it. Every search, video watched, or conversation online is recorded and used by big companies to manipulate us.
Over time, we become trapped in a digital system that shapes our thoughts and behaviours. For example, if you casually search for a vacation destination, you will soon start seeing travel ads, hotel deals, and flight discounts everywhere. This is not a coincidence- these platforms collect your interests and use them to push content that influences your decisions. The book warns that as social-media increasingly controls what we see and think; our personal freedom is slowly disappearing.

The second chapter, Quitting Social-media Is the Best Way to Resist the Madness of Our Times, explains how social-media platforms are designed to manipulate user behaviour for profit. These platforms encourage division, spread misinformation, and promote emotionally charged content to keep users engaged. The author introduces the concept of the BUMMER era (Behaviours of Users Modified, and Made into an Empire for Rent); where big companies track user habits and modify their experiences to maximize engagement. This leads to a world where false information spreads faster than the truth, and people become increasingly polarized.

The third chapter, Social-media Is Making You an Asshole, explains how spending too much time on social-media negatively changes people’s behaviour, making them more aggressive, self-centred, and less empathetic. As users post frequently, they become overly focused on their own opinions and start ignoring others’ feelings. Social-media platforms amplify anger and conflict because arguments and controversial content drive more engagement. Over time, this constant exposure to negativity encourages people to be harsher online, and eventually, this behaviour seeps into real life; making them less patient and more intolerant in their everyday interactions.

The fourth chapter, Social-media Is Undermining Truth, explains how social-media weakens the concept of truth, making it harder to distinguish facts from misinformation. Falsehoods, half-truths, and exaggerated claims spread quickly, reshaping public perception. Social-media platforms prioritize engagement over accuracy; allowing misleading content to thrive. Big companies manipulate what users see, hiding reality and promoting whatever benefits them financially. Arguments and negativity distract people from the truth, while hidden algorithms influence decisions without users realizing it. As a result, sensational and emotionally charged content spreads faster than facts, making misinformation a growing problem in society.

The fifth chapter, Social-media Is Making What You Say Meaningless, explains how social-media distorts communication, often taking statements out of context. People struggle to understand the real intent behind posts, leading to misunderstandings. Algorithms decide which posts get visibility, not based on truth or importance, but on engagement- likes, shares, and comments. Thoughtful and meaningful discussions are ignored, while entertaining, sensational, or controversial content spreads widely. For example, a serious post about a village’s water crisis might get buried; while a viral joke or music video reaches millions. Over time, users feel their voices don’t matter and stop sharing important thoughts altogether.

The sixth chapter, Social-media Is Destroying Your Capacity for Empathy, explains how human behaviour is influenced by the reactions of others. A simple childhood experiment illustrates this: if one person looks up at the sky, others around them instinctively do the same, assuming there must be a reason. This demonstrates how social interactions shape our responses. However, social-media disrupts this natural social understanding. Algorithms personalize content for each user based on their preferences, interests, and online behaviour. As a result; people no longer share common perspectives or experiences, making it harder to empathize with others.

The seventh chapter, Social-media Is Making You Unhappy, explains how social-media traps users in a cycle of comparison and social validation. It promotes unrealistic standards of beauty and status, making people feel inadequate. Cyberbullying and online harassment add to mental distress, while algorithms manipulate emotions by amplifying negative feelings. Social-media addiction also shifts focus away from real-life experiences, replacing genuine relationships with virtual interactions. Over time, this reduces overall happiness; as people seek fulfilment in a digital world rather than in real life.

The eighth chapter, Social-media Doesn’t Want You to Have Economic Dignity, explains how social-media companies profit from users’ data and attention without fairly compensating them. While users spend time and effort creating content, platforms monetize their engagement through ads. Paid promotions determine content visibility; meaning those who don’t pay reach fewer people. Former Google design ethicist Tristan Harris put it simply in The Social Dilemma: “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.”

The ninth chapter, Social-media Is Making Politics Impossible, explains how social-media is weakening democracy. Historically, progress led to the abolition of slavery, women’s voting rights, and LGBTQ recognition. However, in the BUMMER era, social-media spreads misinformation and controversy instead of truth, causing young people to lose faith in politics. While platforms fueled movements like the Arab Spring; they failed to create lasting change. After protests, many activists remained unemployed, and extremist groups seized power. Social-media sparks unrest but does not provide sustainable political solutions, instead amplifying lies, hate, and division.

The final chapter, Social-media Hates Your Soul, explores how social-media (BUMMER) negatively affects individuals on a deep level. Building on the previous chapters, the author explains how social-media has changed our thoughts, relationships, and sense of self. The platform’s design prevents us from seeing what others experience on their feeds, weakening mutual understanding and emotional connections. As a result, empathy declines, people become more unhappy, and gradually; they turn indifferent and spiritually disconnected. The author describes this process as turning into an “asshole”- making people harsher, even toward those they don’t know.

The book focuses mainly on the harmful effects of social-media while ignoring its potential benefits. Some aspects of social-media can be useful, but the author does not acknowledge them. The book also relies heavily on the author’s personal experiences; which may not apply to everyone. This makes it less helpful for general readers with different perspectives. Additionally, the book suggests deleting social-media accounts as the ultimate solution. However, this may not be practical for everyone, especially those who rely on social-media for daily work and communication.

(Authors: Arun Kumar Gond, Research Scholar, Department of Sociology, University of Allahabad | Email. arungond413[at]gmail.com ; Ranjan Kumar Chandravanshi, Research Scholar, Department of Sociology, Banasthali Vidyapith,, Private university in Vanasthali, Rajasthan)