‘The Social Dilemma’ is a frightening documentary of self-reflection in a digital age
Documentaries aren’t usually on the watchlist for this column, but after watching “The Social Dilemma” recently, I think it speaks volumes to kids and parents alike. It’s a hybrid documentary and dramatic film highlighting the dangers of social media on both the personal and global levels from tech industries pioneers — and even the very people who built the platforms they now wish to dismantle.
The main subject of the doc is Tristan Harris, former bigwig at Google and now co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology. Along with countless others from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and more, he breaks down the nuts and bolts of how social media algorithms and artificial intelligence predict our online behavior and drive our viewing habits toward what they “think” we’d be interested in seeing, even if it’s uninformed, untrue or even dangerous.
The narrative of the doc follows a high schooler named Ben (played by Skyler Gisondo of “Santa Clarita Diet” fame). As the experts explain the dangers of social media and its extreme addictability, we see Ben fall further and further down the rabbit hole of propaganda, fake news and click bait — all stemming from a notification that his ex-girlfriend is seeing someone else. His life slowly dismantles — he stops going to sports practice, he’s ignoring his friends and family, he becomes more and more depressed — until he ends up at a protest rally on the wrong side of the issue. It also shows how negative reinforcement is damaging his younger sister’s self-esteem and self-image after someone leaves a nasty comment on one of her selfies.
Probably the most frightening thing about the documentary is that it confirms nearly every fear and trepidation I’ve had about social media for the past four or five years. I’ve taken many “breaks” from sites like Twitter and Instagram and have completely left Facebook due to the toxic and malevolent nature I started to see before, during and after the last election. Turns out, that wasn’t just ME noticing it — it’s a traceable trend that outside influences have hijacked social media in perfectly legal ways to push their influence based purely on how you browse and what you click on.
It’s really quite terrifying.
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