Chronic. Is Mark Zuckerberg escaping into the metaverse? The brilliant inventor of the largest social network in the world opportunely announced, Thursday, October 28, that his company would change its name and be called Meta to concretize its commitment in the construction of a parallel world called “metaverse”. As if he wanted to escape the rain of calamities that suddenly fell on his beloved company, founded in 2004 in his bedroom at Harvard. We blame him in Washington, where parliamentarians constantly summon him, former employees come out of the shadows to unpack the family’s dirty laundry and are received abroad like rockstars on a world tour. What make you want to change universe.
But what do we blame Facebook for? To have given birth to a creature of such power that it is now spiraling out of control. A monster that leaves in its wake a procession of victims. He is accused of causing addiction, spreading disinformation and demoralizing the most vulnerable. According to an internal study revealed by the now famous whistleblower Frances Haugen, nearly 13% of users are literally addicted to the network, unable to detach themselves from it, to the detriment of all social life. The hate speech circulating there stokes anger and jealousy, while others feel devalued by the image that is returned of themselves, on Facebook or its cousin Instagram, to the point of developing suicidal thoughts.
The torments of Saint Thomas Aquinas
Such damage is hardly surprising. They are those of the human soul given over to its worst instincts. Already in the 13the century, Thomas Aquinas formalized for the Church the seven capital sins responsible for all the evils of man. We find there the pride of one who believes he is always right, the gluttony of one who can no longer stop, the spiritual depression called laziness, lust, damage, anger and envy. But we also find their opposite on Facebook, solidarity, generosity and benevolence, which are also fundamental traits of human character. The problem is, it all ends up being propelled on a massive scale and in record time.
Faced with such a surge, it is not up to the fisherman alone to police but the Church, in this case the State, to discipline customs. Rules, that’s what the unfortunate Mr. Z is ready to accept against parliamentarians. But for that, he would have to recognize that the world’s leading media is one, with all the responsibilities that come with it, and not just some kind of giant phone that would allow people to talk to each other.
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