The billionaire LA Times owner calls social media the 'cancer of our time'

Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong on Wednesday advocated for a change in how people consume news on social media, calling the platforms the "cancer of our time."

"The short attention span we're creating in this millennium is actually very dangerous," said Soon-Shiong, the new owner of the LA Times. "It's the untended consequences of social media."

Soon-Shiong, also chairman and CEO of biotech firm NantKwest, was responding to a question on the state of media and its relationship to social networks.

Platforms such as Facebook's News Feed have revolutionized how people consume media and how news organizations deliver content. But they have also been criticized for spreading so-called fake news and misinformation.