Throughout my book Terms of Service I use the term “social internet” more than “social media” for a few reasons. One of them, perhaps the primary one, is to demonstrate that the social experiences we have on the internet extend far beyond the traditional apps and logos we imagine when we hear the term “social media.” (There are other reasons to differentiate the social internet and social media.)

When we think of social media we think of toxic Facebook comment sections, Snapchat streaks, TikTok trends, Instagram face filters, and other such personal expression paraphernalia. But social media is much more than this.

Social media is YouTube recommendations.

Social media is Google search results.

Social media is newsletter comment sections.

Social media is work Slack channels dedicated to sharing daily Wordle scores.

Social media is texting your friends an edgy tweet you want to post but can’t risk posting.

Social media is Amazon book reviews.

On that note, can I ask you to leave Terms of Service a rating on Amazon or Goodreads if you haven’t already? You don’t need to write up a review, unless you’re willing. But if you could even just rate it with the appropriate stars, it would really help the book get in front of more eyeballs.

Because what better way to use social media than to get a book out there about the unseen costs of social media?

Thank you.

-Chris