The Social Dilemma: 5 reasons why every Social media user should watch this
You might want to delete social media apps after watching The Social Dilemma
If you will be watching this Netflix documentary on TV, there would be moments when you will check your social media feeds, no matter how hard you try not to look at them. This is what Jeff Orlowski’s documentary is about, along with the influence of social media amongst us. It might happen that you would delete Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media apps from your phone after watching this documentary, so this is the spoiler we are brave enough to give.
The Social Dilemma opens with a quote: “Nothing vast enters the life of mortals without a curse.” And the ex-workers of Silicon Valley, US weigh in with tales of good intentions from the time when social media was new and then paint a bleak picture of the current alarming situation. For example – Justin Rosenstein, former Facebook, and Google engineer points out that the like button was designed to be a tool for spreading love and positivity and not as a behavioral tracking device.
1. How social media is changing your behavior?
The documentary explores many points related to the social media and Google search engine. We won’t give away many details, as it will ruin your movie experience. Still, something must be given for an insight – The movie tells you that social media isn’t just selling a picture to you but also selling and showing things that can change your behavior. You will know that you are a part of an ecosystem that uses psychological means to hook people. The movie will tell you that social media and search engines are even bigger addiction than drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
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2. Performance Worth Watching:
Although the movie is a documentary, it still has a fictional family to demonstrate what could happen in a family due to internet addiction. The entire cast of fictional characters looks convincing. Among the non-actors, Tristan Harris states his case about how companies like Twitter, Google, and Facebook have gone after profits before social responsibility very effectively. He also explains ways to fix it.
3. Jeff Orlowski’s fictional tale
The world is divided these days, don’t trust us! Have a look at your family. How you people spend your time in the evening. Isn’t it social media that is keeping you apart? To demonstrate this fact, the director has created a fictional family whose kids are addicted to social media. The youngest daughter, Isla (Sophia Hammons) is so addicted to her phone that her mother tried to lock it for an hour so that they can have lunch together. Isla smashes the safe with a hammer to get her phone, five minutes later after it was booked. The eldest daughter, Cassandra (Kara Hayward), on the other hand, doesn’t even have a phone.
4. Memorable Dialogue
For a documentary, this movie has some amazing dialogues, which are mostly seen in superhero movies, where the world needs saving. Jaron Lanier, the author of the book Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, during the interview says that if things keep going this way for the next 20 years, we’ll probably destroy our civilization through ignorance. The former president of Pinterest, Tim Kendall, when asked about what he is most worried about. He Says, “Civil War.”
5. You might take the good step of deleting Social Media Apps
Not all the movies are intended for fun. The Social Dilemma too is a great learning experience about the doings of social media and google search engine. The movie is an indictment of the tech industry that lays out the damage being done by Google, Facebook, and Twitter through search engines and social media platforms. It also tells how and why they are doing, and what could be done to stop it.
The Social Dilemma is a warning and the filmmakers try to marshal the voices of former key employees of the big tech companies, academics, and industry experts to sound the alarm. The Netflix special attempts to identify the root of problems.
You will realize after watching the movie that, it was somehow okay till we were just an advertisement target, but things became ugly when these social media and search engines tried to change our behaviors as they know our likes, dislikes, searches, general information, and what outrages us.
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