5/5 (1)

 

A must-see, right? On September 9th 2020, The Social Dilemma was released on Netflix. This investigative documentary takes a deep dive into the dangerous impact of social networking on society. Multiple tech experts and whistleblowers of companies like Facebook, Instagram and Google are interviewed and asked to provide their take on the current state of social networks. These “tech gurus”, most of which are now trying to make the same industry they helped build less ethically concerning, warn us about the impact social media has on our lives. 

 

Although most of us can acknowledge that we are on social media more than we probably should, we would not call it an addiction and certainly do not know the implications this has on our privacy and the ways our personal data is being used. The social media giants (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) only have three goals: increase your screen time, increase your engagement rate, and increase the amount of ads you see. These goals all increase the total revenue of these companies, leaving the question of what the product is they are selling. A quote that struck me was: “If you are not paying for the product, you are the product”. To what extent are these companies using us and our data to increase their revenue? Are they selling us, our attention, to other companies? The more addictive we become, the more money they earn from ad revenue. But how do they make us so addicted that we keep scrolling? 

 

Because of the continuous exponential growth in computing power, and therefore, the extreme amounts of data points that can be collected and stored, the AI systems have become shockingly accurate in predicting what will keep us on the app or page. We all sometimes feel as if we are being eavesdropped by our phones right? It is actually the AI systems that have gotten so well at predicting our thoughts. The scary part, however, is when these platforms are being used to change our thoughts. For example, the targeted political campaigns that have potentially influenced the 2016 US presidential election, or bombarding people with conspiracy theories and calls for riots. Additionally, the world has seen a significant increase in self-harm and mental illness among teens, that have spiked since the rise of social media in 2011. Are we too late or is it still possible to turn this around? Fortunately, most of the tech experts are somewhat optimistic. With the right laws in place, such as taxing data collection or privacy protection laws, they believe we will be able to make social media less harmful. 

 

Although I agree with the tech experts on most points and the harmful impact social media potentially has on humanity, there are some parts in the documentary that I think have been hyperbolically emphasized. First, it is true that the number of mental health and self-harm cases have increased. While the documentary states this is a result of the increase in social media usage, they do not acknowledge other factors such as a rise in economic insecurity. Moreover, increased polarization, racism, and riots are illustrated as symptoms for the so-called ‘social media-era’, while no historical context is taken into consideration. Therefore, I feel like at some points the impact of social media is exaggerated to create the dramatic effect documentaries try to achieve to get their intended point across. 
In conclusion, I highly recommend watching The Social Dilemma if you are interested in knowing how we are being influenced by social media. It successfully alarms us about extensive data mining and the way we are being manipulated. Additionally, I would like to hear your ideas on how we can ensure ethically correct social media platforms and what is needed to achieve this. Or do you think, after watching, that we are too late and the only way out is by deleting all our social media accounts?

 

References

Netflix. The Social Dilemma (2020). Retrieved from: https://www.netflix.com/search?q=the%20social%20dilemma&jbv=81254224