The irony of social media: how infinite connection created mass loneliness.
We were promised that the internet would bring us closer. In many ways it has. But something else happened too — something nobody planned for.
The internet brought us closer. This is genuinely true. Long-distance relationships, diaspora communities, niche interests that would have been invisible in a pre-internet world — the network has been real and valuable for millions of people.
But something else happened at the same time. Something nobody engineered deliberately, but that the incentive structures of social platforms made almost inevitable.
The platforms that succeeded were the ones that maximised engagement. Engagement meant time on platform. Time on platform meant advertising revenue. The whole system optimised for one thing: keeping you looking at the screen.
The problem is that the things that maximise engagement are not the things that create genuine connection. Outrage travels further than warmth. Comparison triggers more scrolling than contentment. The highlight reel drives more time-on-app than honest conversation.
We ended up with platforms that are technically social but functionally isolating. You can have 2,000 followers and feel completely unknown. You can spend three hours on Instagram and feel worse about your life than before you opened it.
This isn't a moral failing of the people who built these platforms. It's a structural consequence of building businesses on attention. When attention is the product, depth is the enemy.
Avilo is an attempt to build something with a different incentive structure. We don't make money from your time on the app. We make money when you find Avilo valuable enough to pay for premium features. Our revenue model and your wellbeing are aligned, not opposed.
That alignment changes everything about what we build. It's the most important structural decision we've made.
Written by
Max Reid — Founder, Avilo