A Wake Up Call From Our Screens: The Social Dilemma
In a world where society is ruled by social media engagement and algorithmic programming, Director Jeff Orlowski's "The Social Dilemma" pulls back the curtain we have used to shield ourselves from the price of our lives in the digital world. The documentary was released in 2020, conveniently around the time when just about everyone in the country was glued to their phones. It complies interviews with social media experts that highlight the dangers and manipulation tactics used by our favorite platforms.
I am a firm believer that social media can do a lot of good when used properly. I may be a little biased in that opinion due to the fact that I know when I need to put my screens down and just live in the moment. This film, while clearly dramatized, genuinely revealed to me just how harmful social media can be. So many individuals can be targeted by certain algorithms that spread misinformation and hate, creating poor social media experiences. Subconsciously, I am aware of how much personal information is taken and used every time I log on. However, this film has unleashed the true horrors of what is done with that information. Things I'd never know about if I didn't question anything further.
The dramatized segments of "The Social Dilemma" follow a fictional family as they struggle with the very real consequences of algorithmic influence: a teenager addicted to their phone, a boy radicalized by extreme content, and a family strained by screen time and disconnection. These clips, though fictional, are disturbingly relatable and grounded in real behavioral science. Real life is absolutely reflected in this family. One of the toughest parts of the movie for me to watch was the clip of their family dinner. The daughter broke open a lock box for her phone with a wrench because she couldn't go 45 minutes without it. The family could not sit together and have a conversation at dinner without the use of their phones. In my family, we have a rule of no phones at the dinner table and actually engage in conversation with one another. So, it is completely foreign to me that they'd go to such measures just to have their phones back in their hands.
At the heart of "The Social Dilemma" is a simple yet urgent message: if you're not paying for the product, you are the product. Through compelling interviews with former executives and engineers from tech giants like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, the documentary exposes how these platforms use sophisticated algorithms to predict, influence, and often reshape our behavior—all in the name of profit.
One of the most striking revelations, made by the son in the film, is how deeply personal data is used to feed an attention economy. The algorithms learn what we like, what outrages us, and what keeps us scrolling. And they use that information not just to serve ads, but to subtly mold our worldview. As several experts warn in the documentary, this isn’t just about losing privacy—it's about losing autonomy and even social cohesion.
In the end, "The Social Dilemma" is a sobering mirror held directly up to our faces and forces us to ask: who is controlling our attention, and at what cost? And more importantly—what can we do about it?
I liked your point about the dinner scene. I felt the same way watching it. It really hit me how normalized phone addiction has become. I also liked how you talked about the line, “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.” That one stuck with me, too. It’s definitely made me think more about how I use social media.
ReplyDelete