Ali Mattu, Ph.D.

@alimattu.bsky.social

Overthinker turned psychologist. Helping anxious people do the things they’re scared to do 🖖🏽 https://www.alimattu.com 🖖🏽 People Not Pixels 📺 350K on YouTube 🪪 Psych License # CA PSY34269, NY 020357

The WALL-E humans didn't stop moving all at once. They just kept choosing comfort. Amazon now. DoorDash dinner. Netflix slop. OnlyFans chat. Every day. For years. Until the easier option was the only one they could manage.

"You don't belong here." And other lies our brains tell us. I've been a psychologist for 12 years. I've also had social anxiety as long as I can remember. Things have changed. The anxious voice that used to whisper is getting louder. Not just for me, everyone I know. I think I know why. 🧵

Someone is getting rich from your loneliness. I've spent 16 years obsessed with this problem. As a psychologist. On YouTube. At a startup.And I keep arriving at the same conclusion: The problem isn't our phones. The problem is how wildly profitable the loneliness economy is. 🧵

I'm a clinical psychologist who's obsessed with social connection. I believe being with people is the most powerful mental health tool we have. Social media is allergic to all of this. 🧵

We’ve already seen what happens when we hand kids powerful tech without guidance. Instagram can make girls who already doubt themselves hate themselves even more. YouTube can take boys who feel invisible and lead them down a path of rage and radicalization.

Everyone’s trying to fix what social media did to our minds. We didn’t see that disruption coming. But this time, we can see it coming.
 AI is changing everything. This isn’t just a tech revolution.
It’s a mental health one.
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