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Zuckerberg asks Harvard grads to fight isolationism, nationalism

Bloomberg Published on Fri, May 26, 2017 / 8:45 AM GMT+8

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SAN FRANCISCO (May 26): Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg told Harvard graduates that they need to help others find purpose in a world where machines are taking away some of the steady jobs and communities aren’t as stable, leading to isolation and nationalism instead of people coming together globally to solve problems.

“When our parents graduated, purpose reliably came from your job, your church, your community,” Zuckerberg, 33, said in a commencement speech. “But today, technology and automation are eliminating many jobs. Membership in a lot of communities has been declining. Many people feel disconnected and depressed, and are trying to fill a void in their lives.”

The social network Zuckerberg started in his Harvard dorm room now has 1.94 billion users around the world, large enough for the CEO to feel pressure about its impact on society. Zuckerberg has spent this year traveling around the US to understand what people feel about Facebook and how they form connections with each other, after the country’s presidential election revealed deep divides.