5 Things I Learned From The Social Dilemma - and Why You Should Watch It

 Hello 'tis is I with- you guessed it, YET ANOTHER FONT. Gonna have to get used to it buddy, there's still many many fonts left to choose. Well anyways, straight to the point. 

The Social Dilemma. 

If you have Netflix (some people don't, I know, it's a crime) you may probably know that The Social Dilemma is a documentary/show that talks about...the social dilemma! It was incredibly interesting and I was just so surprised at what happens on the other side of your screen.

To describe this dilemma in a few words would be: 

"We have lost control of the monster we created."

Here are my thoughts and key takeaways about/from this show:

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1. AI is...wow.

I mean, I knew AI was powerful but THIS? This is...evil. Powerful in an evil way. AI is in charge of almost everything, and it's getting smarter at predicting what you will do next. The job of the AI is to make money, and social media companies do that by keeping you on your phone for the most time everyday. The AI will keep throwing stuff at you to keep you on your phone. 

Every click you make is monitored, and the number of seconds you look at each post is also carefully monitored. THE SECONDS. With this information, the AI can make a good guess of who you are, what your personality is, and even how you look. It can reach to the point where it's almost like you aren't controlling the phone, but the phone is controlling you. 

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2. We become the products 

"If you cannot see the product, if you are not paying for the product, then you are the product" 

Wow. We are basically products. Social media companies basically want to buy us, they want us to download their apps, watch their ads, and make us spend our time on that one app. Other companies will buy a company for us. We are the product that companies want, we are the reason they make so much money, and spend so much money. 

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3. Screen Time 

Every time we open that one social media app that we love, every second we spend on our screens, every click we make, is success for the company. 

The more time we spend on the screen = the more money the app makes

To make us stay on the screen for longer, to keep us sitting there on the couch with a phone in our hands, cleverly programmed algorithms will keep giving us things that will make our screen time longer. For example, YouTube recommendations. You opened YouTube to search up a video that you're interested in, and it's about five minutes long. 

When you opened the app, there was a screen of recommendations, you see one video that looks really interesting, so you click it, and BOOM it's been three hours and you've watched a plethora of endless cat videos and forgot about the thing you came for. Every time you click a recommendation, that's a win for the AI to: 1. Keep you on for longer and 2. To make better predictions about you.

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4. Mental Health 

Ah, Mental Health. A touchy topic for many. The term mental health not only represents/has a bad side, but also a good side. But that's a post for later. Social Media has affected mental health in people under 18 SO. MUCH. Suicide rates for teenagers from 14-18 rose by 60% and suicide rates for kids from 10-12 rose by OVER A HUNDRED PERCENT. How is social media affecting mental health you ask? Likes, comments, videos, hate, theories, arguments, etc. etc. 

A person may feel inclined to kill themselves just because of one comment or because they didn't get enough likes. It sounds crazy, but I'm 100% sure that if you go down that path, you will end up feeling like doing the same. All of these fake beauty standards are really harming. What social media thinks of as "pretty" will be completely different to what a person without social media will think of as pretty. This is causing depression, anxiety, self-hate, and more. 

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5. Global Problems 

Yeah, that is crazy. One social media app can cause a global issue. For example, politics. The wide and complicated world of politics, in which I wish to not enter. People are being separated, by their own opinions, and are becoming entitled to believe that anyone who has a different one is an enemy. 

"Where is all of this happening?" You ask? You guessed it- social media. Twitter especially. Twitter is great, I will admit that, but not when it's wreaking havoc in the delicate balance of society. 

A lot of these arguments and conflicts start with misinformation. People being fed misinformation, believing it, and making anyone who doesn't their enemy. For example, misinformation about countries, politics, and COVID. These spiral into huge fights, and problems. 

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This show was...amazing. There was honestly so much more than what I have stated on here in the show, and I believe that people should watch it and enlighten themselves about the dangers of social media. This brings a new perspective, and gives you a sense of occhiolism. 

Now these are only the cons of social media, but there are many pros. I will admit I'm not expert on this topic, as Instagram seems to be an addiction. But I will change my habits and It's nice to know what goes on.  

Kinda creepy that every click you make is monitored. 

Peace Out

✌