When Social Dilemma got released, everyone was talking about it. It was released on Netflix in September of 2020, so it was still during the time when not much else was going on (makes people more excited for new documentaries!). Honestly, I think the reason that people were most intrigued was because it talked about the dangerous impact of social networking, and how tech companies used it to their advantage to manipulate and influence us as users. This documentary talks about how social media companies manipulate the users by using techniques that help encourage addiction to their platforms. Personally, the scarier part for me is that social media companies have been collecting personal data (it's been pretty much unregulated), and use it to create very specific ads.
During COVID, I started using my phone a LOT more (what else is there to do??), but I didn't think much of it. Of course I had to watch this documentary, and it opened my eyes so much. It made me realize how addicted I actually was to scrolling through social media, how I started doing it mindlessly, and how excessive usage of social media would make me so down on myself. Even sometimes if I was in the middle of a conversation with someone, I would randomly check my phone or my watch if I got a notification. I hated it!! I knew social media was addictive, but I never thought that these companies would do it on purpose, and that's what bothered me. They would send notifications to help release dopamine, which caused users to go into the app a lot more and keep scrolling so they would continuously feel the hit of dopamine rush through them.
It was a great documentary and I would recommend it to others. Social media is great for helping us stay connected with anyone around the world at any given time, but at what cost?
This movie is so chilling. I hear Tristan Harris is maybe doing one more specifically on AI. Look for it!
ReplyDeleteI love your admission about trying to stop but getting distractions. It is THE challenge!