The Social Dilemma By Judith Prins

Netflix’ newest controversial eye-opener

/the social dilemma _

“This scares me to death” are the words of the U.S. senator of Montana when he talks about the future of social media in this world. The Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma discusses this topic and shows that together with the U.S. senator of Montana, many other people are worried about the effects of social media.

You might have noticed that social media can be quite addictive. The fact that people have a biological imperative to connect with other people is one reason for that. Another reason, according to several ex-employees of big social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, is that most channels are designed to keep you on the platform for as long as possible. All of the big companies fight for your attention, willing you to stay engaged with their product. However, this has some bad downsides.

One of those downsides affects mostly youngsters. By the time social media became accessible to a lot of people, numbers showed that there was a rapid increase of depression and anxiety amongst American teenage girls of 10 to 13 years old. Even more shocking, suicide amongst girls in their late teens has increased by 70%, and by 151% amongst younger teens. These numbers show some of the harsh consequences that are most likely caused by the introduction of social media.

“The experts say that social media has so much power over us, that it can sort of ‘steer’ our thoughts.”

Even though I would love to state something positive, the experts in the documentary were very serious (how can they not after what we already know). They have more big concerns about the future, a time where social media will probably play an even bigger role in our lives. The experts say that social media has so much power over us, that it can sort of ‘steer’ our thoughts. Companies of famous platforms state that the so-called algorithm was invented to show you things you want to see. In reality, it is based on what the companies want you to see.

To a certain point this is innocent. However, when it comes to news or conspiracies, the platform is not able to tell the difference between facts and fake news. This can be dangerous whenever people click on a conspiracy theory item or fake news item, because often similar items will be recommended after that. This way, people might start believing things that are not true.

According to the documentary, something similar has happened in the American elections of 2016. Think about it: if you look at an item about the Republicans on Facebook once, you will get flooded with other articles about Republicans. Same counts for the Democrats. Therefore, making a fair comparison between the two parties is made very difficult. Accordingly, numbers show that the number of people who fluctuated between the two parties has decreased enormously in the last couple of years. So even on a scale this big, social media influences us.

“They need to take responsibility for what they are doing and start taking our well-being and safety seriously.”

Experts are worried that the influence of social media will have even bigger consequences in the future. They worry that civil wars will come of it. Perhaps not the strangest estimate, after the recent incident at the Capitol in Washington. These are not very comforting prospects, but the experts say there are things to be done. We have built these technologies, and we have to change them. However, most of the responsibility to do this is in the hands of the big companies. They need to take responsibility for what they are doing and start taking our well-being and safety seriously.

If this article hasn’t scared you off yet, it is highly recommended to watch the documentary. It makes you aware of the world behind social media, and the exemployees of big companies tell some stories worth listening to!