I’m realizing another one of the more pervasive issues with technological dependence is when it becomes centralized and mediated by gatekeepers. A platform forces you to exist within their bounds and they control the connection to the network and your visibility within it. That is user-hostile.

Ideally, the platform operates as a utility for middlemen and their value comes in providing that service, but the pervasive and unsustainable economic model and incentives encourages them to just prioritize user lock-in and dependence because of the misaligned north star of monetary valuation — much value can I make from this, how much value can I provide through this.