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Some of Jackson’s most online residents said they weren’t surprised that a jury found Meta and YouTube intentionally hooked users last week.
“The only surprise in that verdict was just that any sort of corporation was found guilty of anything at all,” said ski influencer Jim Ryan. “We all know we’re addicted.”
Many mountain athletes struggle to limit screen time, despite promoting a life of outdoor adventure. Their performance on the slopes sometimes comes second to their performance online. And while self-promotion can be empowering, it can also be exhausting.
After hours in the “scroll hole,” Veronica Paulsen said she feels depressed and anxious and has trouble getting out of bed. The 32-year-old skier has started tapping her phone with a physical brick that shuts off certain apps.
Jackson Realtor Sam Haack uses short-form videos to advertise some of the valley’s priciest homes. He said he’s addicted to the upload button and struggles when posts underperform.
“I kind of feel bad about myself, right? I’m like, ‘Well, what did I do wrong?’” he told KHOL.
Other influencers tear through trends to know their uploads will land well with audiences.
Although ski athlete Vanessa Chavarriaga Posada said she’s able to bring a distinct identity and activism to social media, she wouldn’t mind if one day it lost its relevance.
“I feel like I’m waiting for the day when I wake up and it’s all gone. And I’m so looking forward to that. Even though I have built a career out of it, I’m excited for it to be over,” she said.
On March 25, a Los Angeles jury found YouTube and Meta liable for features like infinite scroll that keep users bouncing from one video to the next. Content creators in Jackson said those designs, rather than their own uploads, were to blame for harming users’ mental health. They don’t plan to change their social strategy as a result of the verdict.
Ryan said it would be hard to find a similar following on an alternative platform: “I don’t believe that a non-addicting platform is going to succeed when these addicting platforms are already established.”
Instead, he and the other influencers like to think of themselves as a weight on the positive side of the scale, offering inspiration to get outside, or go on adventures. That approach is balanced by the need to promote clothing and food brands, or in Haack’s case, to land home buyers.
And the consumer experience is ultimately outside posters’ control. Ryan said he “would feel terrible” if somebody downloaded Instagram to watch his ski clips and “a month later is looksmaxxing.”
Paulsen wonders if social media will be viewed like cigarettes by the next generation.
“We’re gonna tell our kids like, ‘Oh yeah, everyone was just on the apps all the time’ and our kids are gonna be like, ‘What? That’s so dangerous. How did nobody know?’” she said.
For now though, Instagram and other platforms will remain the primary driver for many athletes’ income and notoriety, especially in a high-achieving mountain town like Jackson.
And because Jackson is also a small town, even those less adventurous residents can see their Strava stars at the grocery store.
“No matter how big you get on social media, these people are still members of our community,” Paulsen said.
