The Social Dilemma - Netflix

“Nothing vast enters the life of mortals without a curse.” -Sophocles

Boy, is that a dramatic intro. But I can’t truly hate, even for funzies, because after watching this, I’ve realized just how serious (and intense) this really is. Not to mention, the ex–Senior VP of Engineering at Twitter is HOT. Okay, enough of that. Now let’s get into it.

Oh wow, my TV decided to freeze at that moment. Seems I’m meant to watch fully and come back later. BRB.

Okay, I’m back. After many technical difficulties with my Wi-Fi and Netflix account, I have thoughts to share.

The pessimist in me has a love/hate relationship with this documentary. This documentary’s goal is to manipulate you into caring about laws and regulations around social media, data collection, and advertising companies. Which begs the question that I ask myself way too often for it to be healthy: Is any manipulation good? How can we really assess if we’re being manipulated so well?

I sure was manipulated by this documentary.

And here’s the uncomfortable part: I think it’s right about the fact that the real danger isn’t the technology itself; it’s the profit-driven system quietly shaping our behavior behind the screen.

I immediately went and removed certain data collectors from my phone and set a new, secret social media time-limit code. I added electrical tape to cover all of my device cameras. I deleted a whole bunch of apps. I turned off a whole bunch of notifications. I thought about getting a flip phone… if only. Unfortunately, I’m directionally challenged and need my GPS app. Then I realized that I also have free will and can build self-control, lol. So all I really need to do is commit to myself and my goals. Like seriously, girl, get it together.

P.S. All the men and women on here are so HOT now because of how intellectual they are. You know what I mean? Maybe I need to stop seeing that first, but that’s an essay for another day.

This focuses on the worst of humanity using technology, but I think we also have to remember that the best of society is out there too. All hope can never be lost as long as there is still goodness out there and people who care and are willing to act. I want to highlight that before diving into such a dismal conversation. Social media and the internet can be good. We can learn. We can connect. Tech offers accessibility services we’d be worse off without.

But, like we all already know and turn a blind eye to so we can enjoy our scroll time, there’s a nefarious side to all of this too. This documentary did a swell job of telling that story, of connecting those dots. It really begs the question of media literacy and surveillance capitalism.

Now before you assume this is a capitalism rant… hear me out. Every system has cracks. And cracks get exploited. What’s happening here? It’s surveillance dressed up as convenience. It’s data mining sold to advertisers. Big ick. Because at the end of the day, YOU are the product.

Shivers run down our spines at the realization.

The few at companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter got into a room with a whole bunch of old computers back in the 2000s and decided the communication and internet-connection tech reality for the many, for all of us. Nothing irks me more than when I have no choice in the matter of my day-to-day life. Every single action we take is recorded. Every single picture we like, every page we stop at, how long we’ve looked at it, when we’re on, what we see. We’ve been sold out to advertisers. WE are their product (those “free” services like TikTok and YouTube are paid for by them).

Those recommended videos and the FYP are creating meticulously crafted and imperceptible changes in our behavior. That is the true product. That is what they benefit from. We’re all their little lab rats in an effort to make these internet companies and corporations more money.

Oh boy. I sound like my mother on one of her conspiracy rants. Which, by the way, my mom’s a smart lady, and I hate to admit it, but as I’ve grown older I’ve realized, “Damn, she was right about that too.” Don’t tell her I said that. Can’t lose my street cred.

You may be thinking, “Yeah, whatever, I’m smart enough to know when I’m being sold to.” WRONG. Lol jk. But seriously, you’re probs wrong about that. These software developers literally use behavioral psychology to do what they do. They are hacking us. I mean, they are exploiting our natural human vulnerabilities. The vulnerabilities that are good and normal to have as a human being are being used against us. I mean, even the ex-president of Pinterest was explaining how horrid it is. Pinterest! Is nothing sacred?!?!

I think the most important part of this documentary for me to see was the bit where they quoted The Truman Show: “We accept the reality of the world with which we’re presented.” I mean, with the fake news and extremely polarized sources going on in the United States and globally, this has been on my mind for a while as a general thought cloud that, much to my chagrin, I must admit I’ve avoided so that I can pretend that I am indeed always right. (I just know my rhetoric professor from college would be gagging at all these filler words I’m using. It’s called personality, okay! Plus, this is my essay… get out of my thoughts!)

We news watchers and social media users aren’t being objective and constructive individuals, even when we may think we are. That is due to targeted information. Maybe people aren’t as stupid as you think, just convinced of their ways the way we are (ex. political polarization). For example, the data that’s been chosen for me by my algorithm is different from the data my dad is shown, and as a result we both think we’re right and the other is wrong. AND we have facts to back it up! There can be no reconciliation of truth when we are sure of different truths.

Is there such a thing as truth? If there isn’t, or if we can’t agree on what’s true, then we can’t navigate out of any of these arguments and problems. I mean, it has to be true that children should be protected. That people deserve kindness and, like, access to food and water. But right now we live in a world where those things aren’t considered “truth”; they’ve been turned into political opinions. So what do we do? Do we continue to fight each other forever? Do we come together to find universal truth? Is that even possible? I like to think so, but I’m not sure. We’re all just so… human.

At the end of the day, the real problem isn’t new tech and internet access. The real problem is the business model behind these things, doing the dirty work of the highest bidder. The financial incentive is too great for these companies. This documentary does well in offering possible solutions to this problem rather than just saying, “Yeah, this sucks.” They mention taxing data centers to create a fiscal incentive. There are certain markets we can outlaw. We DO outlaw some as it is.

We need to connect with empathy to people who think differently than us. We need to start caring about those who come after us. Oh wow, have I been smelling the flowers with this ’70s-esque, hippie love-each-other ending? But honestly, we need to start pushing and lobbying for regulations that companies and politicians can’t use against us. All social and political change started with one person or group that gained traction because people DO still care about each other. There are already groups fighting for these regulations, fighting for our minds, for our children’s online safety, for the outlawing of false information. Should we just let them and see what happens, or should we speak out too?

The many outweigh the few by a lot; we’re just too separated by the screens those few have placed between us.

I wouldn’t be doing my due diligence if I didn’t let you know who wrote and produced this documentary. Media literacy, people! It’s key! This was produced by Exposure Labs Production, a social-impact film studio based in Boulder, Colorado.

They are funded by three institutional funders: Far Star Action Fund, Perspective Fund, and the Park Foundation. Their individual funders are as follows: Barry Schuler; David & Linda Cornfield; Rick Reed; Melinda Ryan; Robina Riccitiello; Courtney Reum & Family.

Now, the Far Star Action Fund is led by Microsoft executives David & Linda Cornfield. Perspective Fund is a private foundation led by Jacob Taylor. The Park Foundation is an independent private foundation founded by Roy H. Park. It has a board of trustees and is funded by its own endowment.