Facebook, Instagram will trap humans: Sci-fi pioneers knew it in 1950s

<p class="p1">Science fiction writers predicted in the 1950s that social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter will trap millions of people one day, in such a way that they will struggle to break free, thus becoming perfect examples of modern-day robotic presumption.</p>
<p class="p1">Products, where producers and consumers are blurred, are called the "prosumer" so consumers also play a part in a product's creation, as with social media and Augmented Reality (AR) games.</p>
<p class="p1">Science fiction authors like pioneer Frederik Pohl foresaw AR video games, the rise of social media and trends of hyper-consumption in the 1950s.</p>
<p class="p1">"Pohl's work highlights the ability of science fiction to provide a better understanding of possible futures and the lasting impacts of modern and emerging technologies, allowing people to see what the world may become in a way easily understood by a mass audience," said Dr Mike Ryder from Lancaster University Management School.</p>
<p class="p1">Social media users are perhaps the best example of modern-day robotic presumption, "mindlessly producing and consuming content, while social media firms sell their data and target them with ads that feedback into the cycle. Users struggle to be break-free through a fear of missing out (Fomo)".</p>.