As an elder millennial and digital native, I feel quite lucky that I got to experience both an analogue childhood and an online adult life. My childhood was free of Ipads, Netflix, social media and 24/7 peer pressure.
But the year that I graduated college was the year Facebook and Myspace came out. This meant that I grew up in my formative adult life not only consuming social media and the online world as an individual, but I also made a career out of it. And for the most part, that has been great and highly rewarding.
But now the data on social media is out. You’d have to be living under a rock to not realise how real and present the dangers of social media are, not only for ourselves but for our children (if you haven’t read The Anxious Generation, this is your sign to add it to your holiday reading list). Social media is proven to be bad for you, and worse for your kids.
It’s bad for your attention span, it’s bad for your productivity, and it’s bad for your social and emotional well being. We know this. And yet, we continue to use it, day in and day out. These platforms are addictive, and cognitively designed to keep us on them.
Founder of Monnett, Christos Floros, thinks there ought to be a better way. On this episode of Mom Life in Luxembourg, I sit down with him to discuss his new social media platform and the reasons behind his endeavor. Christos has lived his entire life in Luxembourg and has a background rooted in architecture and politics.
Drawing from these experiences, he’s embarked on creating Monnett, a social media platform with a distinct vision. It’s designed to be a space where true social interaction thrives – an antidote to the surveillance-driven or highly targeted models we’ve grown accustomed to.
Monnett sets itself apart by offering a subscription-based or ad-supported model that isn’t reliant on targeted advertising. It’s about creating a social network that treats users as human beings rather than data points.
Christos explains that the platform will focus on personal connections, giving users full control over their content and memberships – with actual humans monitoring against “AI Slop”. Which is something quite different from current industry standards.
We dive deep into the systemic issues with current social media platforms, particularly his problem with the dominance of American and Chinese big tech. Christos envisions something new – a European-led initiative that doesn’t fall into the same traps.
He discusses the challenges of creating a platform in today’s environment but remains optimistic about the potential for change.
As always, please give it a listen and let me know what you think. If you’d like to comment on the show, are interested in being a guest on the show, please reach out. You can email me anytime at momlife@rtltoday.lu or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and my new profile on Monnett @momlifeinluxembourg.
