The Social Dilemma
A Netflix documentary that I believe everyone needs to watch..
The world is becoming like a spell, a spell that has pushed everyone away and keeps their focus on technology, hence social media. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, instagram.. I could name hundreds of social media applications that are ruining the lives of the new age. When I was younger had received my first cellphone when I had gotten into sophomore year of high school. Now, Children at the age of 6-7 are receiving technology. The focus from these social media point of view is all about, how long can I keep the consumers attention. The product is all about the “change in your behavior”, and that is how they make money, the way we change. “They sell certainty”. The theory throughout this documentary relates to what they do with the data. According to the data, they create a figure of you, knowing what you enjoy, watch, and think of. The 3 main goals for this dilemma would be seen as the engagement, the growth, and the advertisement. Algorithms are viewed to give you what you are hoping for, whether its a video about sports, or sneakers, they will find your precise thoughts into an ad. A quote given throughout the documentary that had caught my eye was written by Arthur C. Clarke. He states, “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” It’s all about who can make technology more persuasive. Every time you see your technological device, you tend to look at it, or use it. If something like a bike, considered a tool, it sits there patiently waiting for you, but if it's not a tool, such as social media, it is demanding attention from you, knowing you will be back. All the algorithms are, are setting up an advertisement for you to get drawn in, and buy the product, or go out and do such action taken place throughout the ad. People are trying to change their own perspective, by the way a filter looks, which is absolutely crazy. Technology has its pros, but in all honesty, it is only harming the thoughts of how people persuade themselves. It’s just more of a problem with these triggering algorithms. Imagine the world without technology, imagine the social skills everyone would have, they're wouldn't be nearly as much drama, harassment, or clashes between others. People would have to meet up, get out of their comfort zone and become a better version of themselves. This is my response to the social dilemma, and why technology is abusing the lives of our very own.