The computer itself isn’t the only element that makes up a centralized social media platform. Reddit, for example, isn’t just a random giant server in the middle of a desert; it requires tons of additional costs and inefficiencies to run that business, like entire buildings and hundreds or thousands of people.

When it comes to the electrical impact, concentration matters a lot, too. 100MWH consumed by a single data center stresses the infrastructure far more than the same total amount of power being consumed by 10,000 locations spread around the world.