Tech Leaders Warn of the Human Cost of the Internet’s ‘Largest Social Experiment’

Alphonzo Terrell, who co-founded the fandom app Spill after he was dismissed as head of social and editorial at Twitter when Elon Musk bought the company, warned that the industry shouldn’t write off social media altogether. “Kids need what we all need, regardless of age, which is belonging. Social technology has been incredible for belonging, particularly for folks who felt like they were on the margins of their particular community or lifestyle. It has transformed Black kids, queer kids, women, immigrants, disabled kids, neurodivergence,” he said. Then he became visibly emotional. “So when you see the volume and the sustained attacks on these kids who are coming to these platforms because they have nowhere else to go to find people like them, it’s masochistic. I don’t know how morally you can continue building in the same direction without making that your top priority. …If we do our jobs the right way—you know, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs—you cannot get to belonging without safety.”