Through several years, it has been observed that social media platforms have become an inseparable part of our lives. Now we cannot imagine a day without scrolling into feeds of social media platforms. And that’s proof in itself that how social media has a major influence on our lives. So the docudrama ‘The social dilemma’ directed by Jeff Orlowski shows the downside of social media and how emergent technologies like AI has helped these platforms to grow exponentially.
Many ex-employees of tech-giants are interviewed in this documentary who are embarrassed about developing these addictive platforms that have affected many people’s lives. Who knew that suicides in the world will grow extensively just because of these social media platforms. Many teenagers are suffering from major body issues, anxiety, and depression all because of social media. These platforms have severely affected the youth across the world.
The ex-employee of Google Tristan Harris who is also known as the conscience of Silicon Valley asks “Have we fallen under some kind of spell?”. And the answer is yes. This documentary ventures into the spooky side of technology, that will chill down your spine and will encourage you to throw your phones away. The documentary also explained the sly game plan of social media. That is the exploitation of our mind with the help of human psychology just to earn money. If you think social media platforms are free then my friend you are absolutely wrong. Nothing comes for free in this world and everything comes with a price. Social dilemma points out strongly how tech giants like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google are selling our attention to the advertisers by keeping us engaged all the time. If you aren’t able to focus on your work or studies just because of your phone, then it’s not your fault at all. It’s just because of these tech giants who are playing with our minds. In this documentary, many ex-employees of tech giants have been interviewed who confessed how ashamed they are of themselves by helping in developing these harmful applications. They also further added that they didn’t think of the side-effects of these platforms.
The docudrama also described the biggest ramification of social media i.e polarisation and fake news. Whether it was Russia interference in the 2016 US elections, hate speech against Myanmar’s Rohingya’s Muslims, or dissemination of propaganda by Indian political parties, Facebook was critically criticized for these incidents. An early investor and a venture capitalist also made a big revelation that Russians didn’t hack Facebook. What they did was use the tools of Facebook created for legitimate advertisers and users but for a wicked purpose.
Recently the platform was also called out for failing to take down hate speeches from the platform despite being reported for promoting violence. The documentary also has a fictional narrative of a family, lured into a social media trap by evil algorithms.
So overall, the social dilemma is a must-watch for avid social media users to understand how they are being used as mere pawns by tech giants.
