Opinion: How do we improve Facebook’s impact on society? By forcing it to do better

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The pile of evidence showing the harmful effects of social media continues to grow. Much of the blowback is falling on Facebook amid allegations it ignored its own research that showed its site’s negative impact on people, especially children.

Public blowback has gotten so bad that Facebook changed its corporate name to distance itself from its own service.

The pervasive nature of social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter means these services aren’t going anywhere. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t improve, and do a better job. It won’t be the government that gets these companies to yield a more positive impact. It’s going to take those of us who use these apps to force them to do better.