The Problem of The Social Dilemma
The terrifying truth of social media has been revealed in Netflix’s documentary, The Social Dilemma. This hour and a half long film explains the true horrors and business tactics going on behind the scenes in the offices, home to your favorite platform. As someone who has been studying social media in grad school, I still found a lot of this information shocking. There was a lot I already knew about social media, but this darker side makes me hesitant to pick up my phone.
The documentary features interviewees who were once and still are engineers, creators, designers, presidents, and ceo’s of popular social media companies like Facebook and Instagram. Probably the scariest thing about the things they have to say, if just the fear in their voice when they talk about the things they’ve developed. They realize that this thing they helped create, that was once meant to bring people together, has turned into a money hungry monster that’s responsible for potical polarization, increase in mental illness and suicide in teens and young adults, dangerous conspiracy theorist cults, and much more. At one point, one of the interviewees even mentions that his biggest fear for our society is civil war, and I would absolutely agree with him.
Growing up with social media, it’s nauseating to look back and think of how important I thought it was. I would constantly be updating my Facebook with pointless statuses to stay relevant, and editing my Instagram photos to something where I was almost unrecognizable. I wouldn't say it is what developed my anxiety and depression, but it certainly did not help. Looking back at my younger self, I wish I could tell her to just sit my phone down and walk away. But instead, I would make myself angry by scrolling through my Instagram feed and spying on all the photos and profiles of girls that my ex-boyfriend decided to disrespectfully like. Just as much as social media can build relationships, it distorts the ones we already have. That particular problem I had with my ex was never a problem before the Instagram take- over. Now, it’s a common problem for most modern relationship. We not only have to fight to maintain healthy relationships with our loved ones in real life, but with AI and technology as well.
To maintain healthy relationships with our phones, social media, and the ever advancing technology, we must monitor our screen time and set boundaries for ourselves. The longer we use our phones in the day, the more data those social media companies can collect and profit off of. The Social Dilemma does a great job of explaining how this is done. We all know by now that the companies make their money off of the ads we see via impressions and pay per click marketing strategies that third party’s can put in place for their business pages. The longer we spend on social media trying to satisfy our craving, the AI and massive computers running the platforms are just calculating another formula for us to attach ourselves to. Online privacy is basically non-existent at this point and even if you think you’re being safe, someone or something is always watching you.
When it comes to me and my activity on social media, I hate to say that I am much more active than I want to be. I use my social media accounts for business, and my personal profiles are set to private. I used to love Instagram, but the longer I spent on it I realized how toxic of a community it really is. I have favorited Twitter more recently since I found a community presence there where I feel as safe as one can feel on the platform. After watching this documentary, I will admit I am more worried about the society we are evolving in to. I’m optimistic that we can find good leaders on these platforms to derive us from the violence and hatred we are so familiar to online. Social media will never cease to exist, but these platforms and their strategies in particular can always be replaced.