Book Review: "The Chaos Machine" by Max Fisher

As you can see, I'm still reading books about the way in which society has basically been destroyed. So far I've read books like Technopoly and Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman, Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam, Selfie by Will Storr and a couple of others in the past such as Stolen Focus by Johann Hari. Now, it's time for The Chaos Machine by Max Fisher which deals with the social media age. I mean the subtitle of the book is quite literally: "The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World" and so, I'm holding out quite a bit of hope to learn something new and connect ideas to things I have already read.

One of the things our author does is he traces the origins of these attention-stealing algorithms that define social media use in the modern age. He shows how early engineering teams at Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and others built systems designed solely to increase engagement. This is probably why these social media platforms advertise things that you will have a reaction to rather than actually enjoy. Reaction = engagement. Nobody who loves something is going to engage to the same extent as someone who has a terrible hatred for something. We can therefore see that these algorithms learned (without human guidance) that outrage, fear, tribal identity signals, and conspiracy theories keep users hooked and using the application. This I completely agree with because I think everyone and their pet dog can see where this is heading. It's an obvious point yes, but it is a great point to start at and expand from.

He also documents how algorithmic amplification escalates polarisation across nations. He uses case studies from the U.S, India, Myanmar, Brazil, and Europe which reveal these similar patterns such as: political fragmentation, identity radicalisation, and collapse of shared truth. I mean I understand why this would happen, but I don't think it can be blamed solely on the social media age. If we are to read back to Amusing Ourselves to Death, we can see that televised debates can have the same negative impact when it comes to polarisation and divisiveness as everything becomes a cult of personality and charisma rather than about the policies themselves. So, there's definitely some truth in this point, but there is probably more to be said about it.

A more interesting point than the last which is definitely made more specifically about the social media age is that the author shows how social media reshapes individuals’ psychology at a neurological level. We know this when it comes to dopamine hits and how social media can permanently damage those receptors, having the same effect on the brain therefore as chronic depression. But the author also describes “hypervigilant emotional states” produced by constant exposure to conflict-oriented content. This is very interesting when it comes to the cases concerning the rise in anxiety. Could this be the 'why' or is it only part of the problem? Interviews with psychologists and neuroscientists reveal that online recommendation engines can induce heightened anxiety, rage, and tribal identity fixation.

One of the points I enjoyed is when the author documents the role of Facebook and YouTube in mass violence and ethnic persecution. This is because this cannot possibly be denied with anyone who has half a brain or more. Fisher draws a line between places like Sri Lanka and Ethiopia with similar patterns such as: rumours, hate speech, and calls for violence spread faster than authorities could respond. This can be seen not only in these countries, but spreading across the USA is the phenomenon of conspiracy, something Facebook is known for promoting.

Fisher then discusses “rabbit hole dynamics”: once a user interacts with mild conspiracy material, the system escalates them toward more fringe narratives. This is purely algorithmic and the recommendation funnels push users toward more extreme content. The biggest thing about this is that whistleblower testimony reveals company executives repeatedly ignored warnings. I think we are all aware of this and are angry about it, but the one great thing about this book is that it makes clear lines between things that are happening to show us that none of it is mutually exclusive from another thing. Everything is connected, everything is by design.

The author unpacks the internal culture of tech companies that produce these harms. He describes the “move fast and break things” ethos and how it produces deliberate irresponsibility and how workers are encouraged to optimise metrics rather than predict social impact. This again, has been documented over and over again from worker testimonies who have since left the job, haunted by the damage they have caused. I'm going to make a bold claim and say that these people who are whistleblowing caught wind of a different kind of viral trend and weren't actually 'haunted' by anything. They just wanted their fifteen minutes of fame. It was all good whilst they were being paid and doing the work. Please don't think of these people as those who have any moral highground - they are perhaps the ones who are even more evil than average. Their entire thing is to make themselves look 'holier than thou'. They jump on the bandwagon of Silicon Valley, then quit when the social tide turns and pretend to be 'haunted'.

Another thing we see is how the author examines the way in which social media fosters loneliness, depression, and identity fragility. Fisher discusses studies linking Instagram and TikTok to teenage anxiety, body-image issues, self-harm patterns, and suicide. Yes, this is something that is obvious enough, but he doesn't stop there. He argues that constant social comparison and algorithmic manipulation distort self-perception. This is something we see explored in other books such as Selfie by Will Storr, where self image is distorted so much that many people have no idea what an actual average person generally looks like anymore. These platforms create a “manufactured social reality” that trains users to present stylised identities. It's actually quite sad when you see people like those of Gen-Z and Alpha who have grown up on the internet and think in this exact way. They have been raised by the algorithm.

The conclusion to the book looks towards regulation and reform, which is being slowly implemented but receives much pushback from the big companies and those who are already addicted to the applications. It is a sorry sight to say it's slowly getting worse but the world is going to hell anyway in all aspects. Why should we expect any different from social media?