The article discusses the growing trend of social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, degrading hyperlinks in order to keep users on their platforms.
The author argues that this is a harmful practice that contradicts the philosophy of the internet, which was originally built on the sharing of links. This trend is reminiscent of old internet portals, which discouraged users from leaving their site to access external content. By removing links, social media platforms are creating a "portal syndrome," making users more susceptible to advertising and ultimately devaluing the internet.
The article further criticizes social media for reducing its initial purpose of facilitating relationships between people to a tool for hyper-segmented advertising.
Original article is available in English on my Medium page, «What’s the real reason Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg want to do away with the hyperlink?»
