CULTURE
By Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP
Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP
FILMS
the Digital World The Social Network (2010) The Net (1995) Her (2013) Catfish (2010) I Am Jane Doe (2017)
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D
irector Jon Hyatt’s new documentary asks a very big question: Are we addicted to our screens? He starts out by turning off his devices and traveling across Canada and the United States to discover the answer. This can be a touchy question in this day and age, as parents manage their children’s schooling via computers, tablets, and other devices throughout the stay-at-home mandates. Screened Out’s focus is on how social media and online gaming industries know how to get us hooked on our screens, which they build into their software. Once they have us, they sell our information to advertisers. According to Sean Parker, Facebook’s original president, when the social media giant launched, they knew that the dopamine loop, or “a social validation feedback loop,” is what ultimately sells the users to advertisers. This loop is the pleasure reward our brains experience when someone responds to something we post. Do we have the strength to turn off notifications? Do we have the courage to limit our screen time? Knowing that Facebook and others sell our information to advertisers—and that these advertisers pay for every click we make online—should make us think. Social media and gaming platforms create deep psychological needs for us that, when fulfilled, make us feel good. And lurking behind these social platforms and video
games are consumer advertising and political ads from unknown sources. This is now an established science that the film adequately explores. The next big question is: What is the long-term effect of “screen addiction by design” on the developing brains of children? We simply do not know. The downside is, of course, when users get negative feedback. The film shows one young teen girl who was saved from suicide because her father rescued her just in time. She got help through a screen rehab program. South Korea has 400 Internet and gaming rehabilitation centers, and these are a growing reality in this country, too, such as reSTART (NetAddictionRecovery.com). The ethics of what these technology companies are doing have yet to be explored in any meaningful way. But this film is a start. Screened Out offers ideas for parents and adults to change how they model their relationships with their devices and give their children the attention they deserve. The film’s scope is focused on Canada and the United States. It does not address the screen time issues of other ethnic groups or low-income families. This is for the next film. Once I started watching Screened Out, I couldn’t stop. It is available on most streaming services. Not yet rated • Suicide, bullying, addiction references.
44 • August 2020 | StAnthonyMessenger.org
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6/25/20 11:29 AM
THE STAND AT PAXTON COUNTY: COURTESY ESX ENTERTAINMENT/SEAN GUNN (2); JUDY & PUNCH: SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS
about
Sister Rose’s FAVORITE
SCREENED OUT
LEFT: COURTESY SISTER ROSE PACATTE, FSP/MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS; SCREENED OUT: DARK STAR PICTURES (2)
Sister Rose is a Daughter of St. Paul and the founding director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies. She has been the award-winning film columnist for St. Anthony Messenger since 2003 and is the author of several books on Scripture and film, as well as media literacy education.
