Facebook, now known as Meta, is a cornerstone of the digital social media landscape. Its reach across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger touches the lives of billions across broad age, geographic, and cultural ranges. Meta is undoubtedly one of the most influential technology consumer products that exists today. When considering whether or not to work for Meta as a Product Manager, I think it is important to make the distinction between the influence that Meta has versus the influence that I have as an individual rookie Product Manager.
Reiterating the ending sentiment of “Working for Ethically Complicated Organizations”, it is naive to think that one individual can put an end to the data privacy violations, misinformation spread, and psychological damage that Meta’s products perpetuates. However, the scope of my work as a PM does not include “Meta the social media hegemon” – my work lies within one specific Meta product, on one specific value proposition, on one specific feature, on one specific team. When evaluating a balanced ethical stance as a PM on this team, I weigh my responsibilities to support myself and give back to my loved ones with the impact that I impart on my team and the impact that my team imparts on the greater organization. As a PM who is designated voice of the user, it is impossible to ignore Meta’s ethical stain on mental health and user surveillance because these violations are core parts of the user experience. Although my scope of influence is small within the broader organization, I believe it is my responsibility to root teams’ motivations in the user’s burden and chart a roadmap for incremental change based on balancing these user needs with business goals. For example, if I were the PM of Instagram stories, I would think about questions such as: How does the UI of Instagram stories psychologically impact teenagers? How about working professionals? How can we alter the behavior of clicking on stories to mitigate social anxiety? Although my immediate impact is small, I believe these types of questions, when amplified up the org chart, are the seeds which systematically alter the rhetoric around user well-being and ethical product development.
Because I am capable of effecting this change, albeit small, I feel that I am able to justify my position at Meta and thus would accept the offer.
