This article critiques major social media platforms following high-profile incidents like the Trump bans and WhatsApp privacy policy changes, arguing that these events revealed public unease about platforms' societal influence. The piece attributes social problems to the advertising-driven business model that creates detailed user profiles for targeted marketing, which the author claims has produced "deep polarization" as an unintended consequence. The article describes how algorithms serve advertisers rather than users, contributing to a "you're either with us or against us" mentality that the author argues has eroded discourse, empathy, and understanding. The piece suggests that society has reached a "crunch moment" requiring platforms that prioritize collective understanding over individual pontification, claiming this shift would actually benefit businesses seeking to understand customers as human beings rather than just demographic data points. It frames this as an opportunity to redirect society away from division toward comprehensive understanding.