Nodder highlights Facebook’s precocious mastery of “social proof”: “Much of our behavior is determined by our impressions of what is the correct thing to do… based on what we observe others doing.… This influence is known as social proof.” The company instrumentalizes this aspect of adolescent nature by using messages from “friends” to make a product, service, or activity feel “more personal and emotional.” This ubiquitous tactic, much admired by Pentland, was used in the Facebook voting experiment.

Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Cap…, loc. 1455