By Cody Shimp, Contributing Writer
Following the release of the Netflix film “The Social Dilemma” on Sept. 9, 2020, Twitter had strong opinions on the film, as it was trending in the top 20 in the United States. The film explores the effects of social media, social networks and smartphones on the behavior of humans.
The film examines how humans are being manipulated by big tech companies and social networking companies due to the algorithms put forward. Prestigious employees of big tech companies such as Google, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Apple all speak out on the dark side of these media in this film. Most of the employees featured in “The Social Dilemma” all admitted the algorithms in place use people’s psychology against them.
Human behavior has drastically changed as a result of social media. For example, in the film, Justin Rosenstein, the inventor of the “like” button on Facebook, said the “like” button was created to spread positivity among the users of Facebook. In theory, this is a quality innovation for the social media platform. As society has progressed, the “like” button has become a pry for approval and popularity. Gen Z was the first in history to experience social media in middle school and high school. People’s personalities and characters changed in an attempt to attract more likes on social networks. The lack of acknowledgment that teenagers might receive on their profile causes increased anxiety, depression, self-harm and mental health issues, along with other major issues addressed in the film. With the unregulated realm of the internet, a whole generation, as a result, has become more anxious, depressed, probable to self-harm and fragile.
The film, “The Social Dilemma,” also details the psychological manipulation by news networking companies and social networking companies that is creating mass political polarization in society. Former engineer for YouTube, Guillaume Chaslot, developed the algorithm for recommendations while working for YouTube. He said in the film the algorithm developed is increasing polarization in society, but this algorithm is keeping people online, generating more revenue for these companies. Humans are becoming accustomed to these new algorithms. Our basic psychological reasoning is becoming remodeled as a result of being exposed to these manipulative algorithms every day.
Chaslot also describes how algorithms spread disinformation across media sights and how this psychologically manipulates the users into believing the content. Topics such as Kyrie Irving’s “flat earth” conceptualization, PizzaGate and misinformative COVID-19 information have all spread across social media six times faster than true, informative news. The result of these algorithms amplifying misinformative bias information creates a system where political polarization is exploited and groups of people become marginalized and divided in the physical and virtual society we live in today“The Social Dilemma” also touches on the threat social media is putting on modern-day democracy.
The social discord seen globally in democratic countries is a direct result of groups of people feeling marginalized due to the psychological manipulation of social media companies. The social discord, misinformation, polarization, alienation, and marginalization are the consequences of the manipulation and result in a distraction in society from the real issues, and if society cannot focus on the real issues, how can society heal itself from the current stage of polarization?
shimpcj18@bonaventure.edu
