The Social Dilemma

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openbook1

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Has anyone else watched this documentary-drama hybrid on Netflix? It is about how social media works to control your psychologically. They speak with people who worked at Twitter, instagram, Facebook etc. Really fascinating but scary. No wonder influencers are so addicted.
 
No, but I plan on watching it.

I have a lot of reservations about social media.
I have a fake instagram account with no followers just so I can keep up with the conversations on here. Outside of that, I'm not on any other platforms (Facebook, instagram, Twitter, Snapchat etc). I have absolutely no idea how telling everyone every detail of your life became the definitive social way of the 21st century. It boggles my mind. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in the twilight zone.

Can't wait to see what the documentary has to say
 
I’d never heard of this but just looked it up and will definitely give it a watch. I hate social media but I’m definitely kind of addicted to it. There are some good things about it but just so many negatives, it’s definitely changed the world and I don’t think for the better.
 
CarrieW24 said:
No, but I plan on watching it.

I have a lot of reservations about social media.
I have a fake instagram account with no followers just so I can keep up with the conversations on here. Outside of that, I'm not on any other platforms (Facebook, instagram, Twitter, Snapchat etc). I have absolutely no idea how telling everyone every detail of your life became the definitive social way of the 21st century. It boggles my mind. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in the twilight zone.

Can't wait to see what the documentary has to say
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I have a real Instagram account with no followers so I can spy on Instagrammers lol .( No I have about 15 followers from real life)
 
I’ve just finished watching it and it’s realllly made me think about my social media use! I knew there was obviously a science behind the way social media works, but I didn’t realise just how much work goes into keeping you active and interested in it! I feel a bit stupid after watching it tbh. I’m definitely gonna try and cut back my useage.

I also 100% believe that there needs to be more laws around what these companies can and can’t do - especially regarding the fake news etc. I think the world is gonna become a very scary place if social media continues the way it is!
 
I am the only person out of everyone I know (sadly) to not use social media. I stopped using it when I realised how much it took over my life. I would stay up late scrolling through instagram aimlessly and do that as soon as I woke up. I would post selfies just in hopes that people would find me attractive - yet even if I got hundrends of likes, I wasn't satisfied.
I would overly obsess about other peoples lives, watch their stories, stalk their partners profiles etc it would go down a huge rabbit hole everytime I was on it and before I know it I have wasted 2 hours staring at Instagram.
It is honestly scary. I would be dating people and see them like other girls pictures and compare myself to them and wonder why I wasn't enough. It's a terrible sprial and I am so so scared for my kids to grow up in it.

Ive been off all social media for about 4 years now and honestly I've never felt so amazing. For the first time in my life I have NO mental health issues. When i go out, i speak to people and learn about them and their lives rather than through their instagrams. i value everyone around me so much more and i no longer compare myself to anyone.

It's crazy to think of the dark places i could go to just from social media. The issues it causes...


I watched social dilemma and was disgusted to see 60 MILLION pre teens had died from suicide due to social media.

When I was a preteen I didn't have a care in the world - I didn't even know what the internet was so I was fine...but now, these kids arent even getting a life. They aren't experiencing the world for themselves - only through their phones.
 
Sorry I can’t quote you because I’m still new!

In reference to the pre teen bit - how horrendous are those statistics! I don’t have kids, but knowing what social media may look like when I do and they go to school terrifies me. Even now, the thought of sitting in a class room and being recorded for snap chat/Instagram without my knowledge or consent makes me feel a bit sick. Kids can be nasty, really nasty, and I hate to think what social media does to increase that. We had mobile phones and MSN when I was in high school, and I know that kids were bullied through those platforms, but we didn’t have likes and comments and stories etc. Social media now just adds way more pressure to childhood/adolescence and it’s scary thinking about how it will look in 2,5,10 years.
 
warrington said:
Sorry I can’t quote you because I’m still new!

In reference to the pre teen bit - how horrendous are those statistics! I don’t have kids, but knowing what social media may look like when I do and they go to school terrifies me. Even now, the thought of sitting in a class room and being recorded for snap chat/Instagram without my knowledge or consent makes me feel a bit sick. Kids can be nasty, really nasty, and I hate to think what social media does to increase that. We had mobile phones and MSN when I was in high school, and I know that kids were bullied through those platforms, but we didn’t have likes and comments and stories etc. Social media now just adds way more pressure to childhood/adolescence and it’s scary thinking about how it will look in 2,5,10 years.
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Exactly - I remember being bullied through Piczo! (Anyone remember that?!😅)- I would get myself in such a state that I would force myself to be sick before school so my mum would think I was poorly and needed to stay home. Same went for msn and MySpace! It was horrific then - so what's it like now? And then in the future?
It's all too much for a kid to be dealing with - to think 60 million pre teen deaths could've been avoided if they didn't have social media is heartbreaking. Imagine being a child and thinking killing yourself is your only way out - I want to cry thinking about it. I hate the world we live in now but it isn't enough and it wont change but I still can't get on board. I will keep my kids away from social media for as long as I possibly can.
 
agreed with all of the above!
I also find it incredibly scary that the people on the show were the ones that created and worked on all of the AI and UI for Sofia media are the ones putting it. It’s definitely made me more conscious of using social media, as if I can feel my self getting dragged back to scroll one more time before I close the app, or watch updated stories before I go to bed. I think I’m defo addicted.
 
I watched most of it (started to get boring when they were talking about American politics at the end). It was really interesting to see how they hook you in to keep checking your phone with the (slightly cheesy) storyline of the teenage boy. I dont have active social media accounts that I post on, I just have them cos you have to sign up to use the apps. But even with that, I know there's a certain addiction. Like when they were saying you cant just leave your phone on the table without looking at it cos you know there's always something new on there - so true!
 
Re-starting this thread because I watched it last night.

Although I thought I understood how socials work, this was an eye opener.

Has anyone else seen it, has it changed your usage at all? I only really use Insta and doubt I'll stop using it, but am very particular about who I allow to follow me or who I follow back (I have Twitter, but rarely use it, deactivated Facebook a while ago).
 
I honestly thought it was a bit tit, though granted I'm somewhat aware of how social media operates so a lot of the information wasn't that new.
Watched it a while ago so can't really go into a lot of detail, but a lot of it was just a very simple discussion on what it does rather than the wider context of it all. They sort of started touching on the more interesting wider context at the end with the fake news focus but again it was awfully simple

I'd recommend Down The Rabbit Hole podcast for anyone interested in YouTube algorithms and how they radicalised some people in the early days and a discussion on the possible duty/responsibility these companies should have
 
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