The 2020 Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma dives deep into the privacy and ethical concerns that stem from Big Data and social media usage, especially in America. It focuses on the impact of social media usage on the human psyche and features tech experts who have worked for forward-facing companies such as Google, Twitter, and Facebook.
Though I have seen the illuminating film over five times, I learn something new each time and am always left questioning the ethics and morals behind my time on social media as both a consumer and creator.
The part of the film that sticks out to me consistently is the segment detailing the negative effects of social media use on young people. HealthyChildren.org reports that more than one-third of teenagers under 18 reported using social media sites such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook “almost constantly” in 2022. It also reports that 38% of kids 8–12 have used social media, despite the minimum age to have an account frequently being 13 years old (Moreno & Radesky, 2023). This most stuck out to me because I have teenage siblings, and can immediately see the effects of social media on how they interact with their friends and their self-esteem.
It also calls to me because I was one of the children negatively affected by social media use. At just the age of 11, in sixth grade, I developed an eating disorder because I was consuming ED content on Tumblr. Not only was this content killing my self-esteem as a 150 lb sixth grader who wasn’t built like the skinny women I saw on my iPod screen, but it was feeding me other negativity. If me feeling like a COW just looking in the mirror wasn’t enough, I was also consuming content that showed me step by step how I could “lose weight fast”. How to skip meals, what I could eat, how to make myself throw up, etc. These are things most adults cannot handle, much less an impressionable pre-teen.
The link between social media and mental health also caught my attention because youth suicide rates are rising at an alarming rate. ” A 10-year study at BYU discovered that teenage girls at age 13 who spent two to three hours daily on social media were at a higher risk for suicide as young adults,” (Bergman, 2023). This direct link is intriguing and begs the question, are owners and operators of social media platforms obligated to do anything to prevent these suicides? That could be a paper by itself.
Though the documentary focuses on the skewed ethics behind the software of social media, these platforms are not entirely negative. Humans can use social media for good; organizing peaceful protests, quickly sharing urgent information, and allowing us to connect at almost any distance. These benefits come with continuing to build a healthy relationship with the technology we’ve created. Some things we can do to help develop a better relationship with technology are limiting our use (time), keeping it out of the spaces we relax in (bedroom), and not depending on it so much. The American Psychological Association also recommends taking time to recharge and turning off notifications (APA, 2017).
In my opinion, it is most important to disconnect from technology and be more independent. We use our phones for calendars, alarms, speakers, affirmation boards and so much more! We are constantly being notified. I think taking away that large distraction would help us be more sensitive when we use social media. I know this is easier said than done.
Most people are practically glued to their phones, myself included. This is a little embarrassing, but there have been multiple days within the past two weeks that my “screen time” on my iPhone alone has been over 10 hours. With this in mind, I do think I could abstain from using my phone for 24 hours if I absolutely had to. So far, I have had no reason to try this out. I do not think it would be easy. It is certainly a mission filled with boredom but entirely possible. I think it would be harder to abstain from all technology for 24 hours.
Overall, the documentary was extremely eye-opening and made me re-evaluate how much time I am spending on social media, the content I’m consuming, and even what others are learning about me. With social media being at the tips of our fingers, I think we sometimes forget how what we interact with can change our lives.
Works Cited:
American Psychology Association. (2017). Connected and content: Managing healthy technology use. https://www.apa.org/topics/social-media-internet/healthy-technology-use
Bergman, M. (18 Sep 2023). Social Media & Suicide. Social Media Victims Law Center. https://socialmediavictims.org/mental-health/suicide/
Moreno, M., Radesky, J. (23 May 2023). Social Media & Your Child’s Mental Health: What the Research Says https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/social-media-and-your-childs-mental-health-what-research-says.aspx
The Social Dilemma. (2020). The Dilemma. https://www.thesocialdilemma.com/the-dilemma/
