Social Media Feminizes Public Behavior

Social platforms amplify and monetize traits historically coded as feminine (vanity, passive‑aggression, reputation policing), nudging broad swaths of users — not just young women — toward more 'petty' and performative social interaction online. This is a design‑driven cultural shift: app features and reward metrics make that style more visible, more profitable, and therefore more normative. — If true, platform design is not neutral: it actively reshapes gendered norms, public politeness, and civic discourse, with implications for mental health, politics, and cultural institutions.