When “The Social Dilemma” came out on Netflix earlier this year, it created a tremendous reaction of shock and alarm from its viewers. Even some of the most avid social media users were stunned at the practices that tech companies were performing right under their noses, and especially at one of the movie’s main claims: if you’re not paying for the product (as is the case with most social media), you are the product. Viewers learned, some for the first time, that social media is not only a way to connect with others, but can also be used in manipulative and controlling ways.
Needless to say, many viewers were horrified by the things that they learned, with many people claiming (somewhat ironically) on Twitter that they planned to delete their social media accounts and reclaim their time and attention. However, in the later aftermath of this film, many people were met with a bit of a personal dilemma (sorry! I couldn’t resist). They now knew more about the darker side of social media, and yet, social media was already a huge part of their lives. It’s really hard to give up something that has become part of your routine and that you use to keep up with your friends and family.
This dilemma got my Digital Tattoo co-coordinator, Sam, and I thinking: many people claimed that they would delete their social media accounts, or at least change their social media habits after watching “The Social Dilemma”, but were they able to stick to this conviction? Did people keep them deleted, or did they reactivate their accounts after a few weeks? We were curious to discover if this film made any real changes in social media habits.
Have you ever thought about deleting your social media accounts? Source
The aftermath:
To be completely transparent, most of my “research” was done by reading through Twitter threads and asking my friends if they changed their habits. I also did my research in mid-October, a little over a month after the movie surged in popularity. Here’s what I found:
On Twitter, as expected, many people expressed their shock at the film’s contents and stressed the importance of watching it and showing it to young people. I think it can safely be said that this film brought awareness to privacy issues and the manipulative power of social media. However, people were using social media to discuss the problems of social media from a film that they watched on an online streaming service! I am not the only one who noticed the irony, and many people were poking fun at it in their tweets. And yet, people were still posting, regardless of the irony. While people were certainly shocked, many of them reported still being online, despite their newfound knowledge. All of my Twitter reading led me to believe that while people are now more aware of the issues with many social media companies, especially Facebook, they cannot bring themselves to care enough to delete their accounts.
Instead of deleting social media, this journalist recommends more intentional usage. What do you think? (Screen capture by Rachael Bradshaw, 2020: Source)
All that being said, I do think that some positive changes have come about because of this film. While Twitter and Instagram users may have been more reluctant to delete their accounts, the number of Facebook users in the U.S. and Canada declined by nearly 2 million users this autumn. It seems possible that some of that decline was due to the influence of “The Social Dilemma”. And on a smaller scale, my friends and I have changed some of our habits. Some of my friends have deleted their Facebook accounts. While I have not personally deleted any of my social media accounts, I have taken another piece of advice presented in the film: I turned off many of my notifications. I have noticed since doing this that I feel less of an urge to constantly check my phone for updates, which has led to less screen time for me and more time to pursue some of my hobbies. I may not have deleted my accounts, but I feel some power and happiness in reclaiming my attention away from social media to focus on things that I care about.
If you haven’t seen the film, or if you want to learn more, check out our tutorial on how social media uses your data. Have you seen “The Social Dilemma”? What did you think about it? Did it encourage you to change any of your social media habits? We would love to hear from you in the comments below.
Written by Rachael Bradshaw
Edited by Samantha Summers
Featured Image: Social Media by dole777 under Unsplash License
I have seen the movie and am not surprised about the manipulation and personal identity theft , but what I was surprised about was how intricate it all is and how fast this world will come to an end because of it. Unfortunately I think the ball is rolling and will not be stopped I was never a fan of social media and I did delete my Facebook account but returned to it realizing that’s the only way I would be able to watch friends and family grow up because it’s almost impossible to physically stay in touch with everyone . So that’s a thumbs up for Facebook, for me. I hope and pray that enough parents showed the young generation how self absorbed, greedy and thoughtless adults can be. It’s too late for us but not for young people, they may be able to figure a way to slow the ball down
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the movie! It’s great that you recognize both the advantages and disadvantages of using social media and understand your purpose for using these platforms.