“Fridays Are Racist”: Evaluating Social Media Engagement From a Virtue Ethics Framework

Abstract

Social media platforms have become a threat to democracy and human flourishing. Critics have previously expressed alarm that our ever-increasing technological habits are negatively influencing human values and virtues. This research explores how the engagement design of social media sites is a morally questionable metric for social media ‘success’. Using a virtue ethics framework in relation to technology ethics research, as well as drawing from the work of Ellul (1962) and technology philosophers, this paper emphasizes the need for perspective and civility in engagement and argues for solutions that withdraw from an engagement design built on efficiency and financial gain. Proposed solutions include global change in the form of 1) altered weights for algorithmic prioritization (e.g., promoting diverse topics and reducing tribalist engagement), 2) returning autonomy to users (compared to corporate control), and 3) global legislation (i.e., the European Union’s DSA).