Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, has made some striking comments about social media. Speaking at the Africa Bitcoin Conference in 2024, Dorsey admitted that platforms like Twitter (now X) don’t just serve content to you, they actively shape what you think and feel. The clip of his speech has recently resurfaced, and it’s sparking huge discussion online.
Dorsey described social media as a system where users are unknowingly working for the platform. Every like, retweet, heart, or comment sends a signal to the algorithm. These signals aren’t used to make your experience better, he said, but to make the platform more money. The more time you spend scrolling, the more ads you see, and the more data the company collects on you.
He broke it down simply: “You’re actually doing work for that company for free.” Every click, share, or tap feeds the system. According to Dorsey, the algorithms aren’t designed to show you the most important news or content, they’re designed to maximize impressions and, by extension, advertising revenue.
This isn’t about creating a friendly global community, he warned. It’s about building massive data-collection machines disguised as social platforms. Dorsey said the same system is now bleeding into new wearable AI products that claim to be your “assistant” or “friend” while quietly collecting more data about you.
The deeper danger, Dorsey explained, isn’t just data collection but mental influence. Algorithms decide what you see. By doing that, they also decide what you care about. “I should not be reliant upon Google’s algorithm to tell me what I should pay attention to,” he said. “They’re programming you.”
He pointed out that TikTok, Facebook, and other major platforms run on the same model. The content you see isn’t random. It’s carefully designed to keep you hooked, and companies can change the algorithm at any time to shift what you focus on, something they’ve done before and will continue to do.
Dorsey’s comments confirm what many people have long suspected: that the endless scroll isn’t just entertainment. It’s a form of control. The feed you’re looking at is a business model, and while you’re scrolling for free, the platform is shaping your attention and selling it for profit.
