Ben Grosser on Social Media's War on Numbers

Ben Grosser, a New Media professor at the University of Illinois School of Art + Design, has been creating browser extensions since 2011 that remove like counts and other metrics from social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. His Facebook Demetricator, released in 2012, was briefly taken down by Facebook in 2016 but restored after legal help from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Grosser's work critiques the 'desire for more'—a psychological vulnerability exploited by capitalist tech corporations. He notes that Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have since experimented with hiding like counts, validating his artistic critique. Grosser's recent projects include a film about Mark Zuckerberg's public appearances (2014–2018), an autonomous video artist system, and a browser extension that reveals hidden site elements. He draws inspiration from theorists like Mark Fisher and Wendy Chun, and artists like Joana Moll and Julian Oliver. The interview was conducted by Valentina Tanni for Artribune Magazine #52.