The Social Dilemma

Last night I watched a documentary (actually a docudrama) on Netflix called The Social Dilemma. It’s all about the dangers of social media and the harm it is doing to our societies.

What makes it so fascinating is that it’s former employees of the big tech companies (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc) that are speaking out. They were there at the very beginning and developed many of the features that these platforms have. They have an insider's view and are aware of how the vulnerability in human psychology is being exploited. Former Pinterest and Facebook executive, Tim Kendall, says that the initial changes Facebook brought were meaningful and positive and that him and his colleagues were ‘naive about the flip side of the coin’. Many of them admit to being addicted to their phones themselves.

There are many ethical concerns that are raised in the film. The first is that tech giants are manipulating the emotions and behaviours of users. Everything that we do online is carefully tracked, monitored and recorded. Their business model is to keep people engaged on the screen for as long as possible so that advertisers are very successful. People’s attention is the product that is being sold and therefore they are skilfully designing the apps to keep us glued to our screens while simultaneously pulling the wool over our eyes so we’re not even aware how it is done.

The link between mental health issues and social media in teenagers is also discussed. The rate of self-harm and suicide, particularly among teenage girls has risen significantly since 2011. This generation is more anxious and less likely to take risks. I think this is particularly worrying as more and more adolescents have phones and are not aware of the dangers. Tim Kendall said that him and his wife are zealots about not letting their children use devices and another interviewee said that they don’t let their offspring use social media at all.

They all agree that there’s no easy answer, no quick solution but there’s a consensus that more regulations are necessary and that it’s not right 'that companies are acting as de facto governments’. The idea of taxing companies for data collection makes sense to me although I haven’t the foggiest how it could be done. Advice they give is to turn off notifications and to uninstall apps that you don’t really need.

If you haven’t seen this film, I recommend it! Let me know what you think.

With vocab in bold

Last night I watched a documentary (actually a docudrama) on Netflix called The Social Dilemma. It’s all about the dangers of social media and theharmit is doing to our societies.

What makes it so fascinating is that it’s former employees of the big tech companies (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc) that are speaking outThey were there at the very beginning and developed many of the features that these platforms have. They havean insider's viewand are aware of how thevulnerabilityin human psychology is beingexploited.Former Pinterest and Facebook executive, Tim Kendall, says that the initial changes Facebook brought were meaningful and positive and that him and his colleagues were'naiveabout the flip sideof the coin’. Many of them admit to being addicted to their phones themselves.

There are manyethicalconcerns that are raised in the film. The first is thattech giantsaremanipulatingthe emotions and behaviours of users. Everything that we do online is carefullytrackedmonitored and recorded. Their business model is to keep people engaged on the screen for as long as possible so that advertisers are very successful. People’s attention is the product that is being sold and therefore they are skilfully designing the apps to keep usglued to our screenswhile simultaneouslypulling the wool over our eyesso we’re not even aware how it is done.

The link between mental health issues and social media in teenagers is also discussed. Therateofaself-harmand suicideparticularly among teenage girls hasrisensignificantly since 2011. This generation is more anxious and less likely to take risks. I think this is particularly worrying as more and more adolescentshave phones and are not aware of the dangers. Tim Kendall said that him and his wife arezealotsabout not letting their children use devices and another interviewee said that they don’t let their offspringuse social media at all.

They all agree that there’s no easy answer, no quick solution but there’s aconsensusthat more regulationsare necessary and that it’s not right 'that companies are acting asde factogovernments’. The idea of taxing companies for data collection makes sense to me although Ihaven’t the foggiesthow it could be done. Advice they give is toturn off notifications and to uninstall apps that you don’t really need.

If you haven’t seen this film, I recommend it! Let me know what you think.

Glossary

docudrama (noun)

A film that is a mix between a documentary and a drama

harm (noun)

Damage or problems caused by something that you do

speaking out (phrasal verb)

To say something publicly

an insider's view (phrase)

Someone who has special information because they are a part of an organisation

vulnerability (noun)
Being weak or easily affected/ emotionaly hurt

exploited (verb)

To be treated unfairly

naive (adjective)

Not having enough knowledge/life experience/easily tricked

the flip side (noun)

Negative aspects of something

ethical (adjective)
Beliefs and principles about what is right and wrong

raised (verb)

discussed

tech giants (noun)

Big technology companies

manipulating (verb)

Control or influence someone

tracked (verb)

To follow someone’s movements

glued to our screens (phrase)

To look at a screen continuously

pulling the wool over our eyes (phrase)

To deceive someone

rate (noun)

A measurement of the speed at which something happens

self-harm (noun)

When someone hurts themselves deliberately

suicide (noun)

When someone kills themselves

risen

Increased
adolescents

Teenagers
zealots (noun)

Someone who is very enthusiastic about something

offspring (noun)

Children
consensus (noun)

Agreement among people

regulations (noun)

Rules
de facto (adjective)

Actual but not official

haven’t the foggiest (phrase)

To not know something

turn off (phrasal verb)

To disable something

 

Questions

  1. Have you seen this film? If so, what did you think of it? If not, do you think you will watch it?

  2. What are the positive aspects of social media?

  3. What are the negative aspects? Are you concerned about it?

  4. To what extent do you think social media is addictive? Are you aware of anything that companies do to keep us engaged?

  5. Do you think that teenagers should be given phones with social media access? Why or why not?

  6. What do you think the future holds for these tech companies?