The Social Dilemma

Although I’m a self confessed technology junkie, there are some things technology offers that in my view fails to function as intended. One of those things is social media, especially in the way it’s manipulated to engage people away from reality. In fact it’s almost become the exact opposite of it’s intention. How many times does one observe countless people at a cafe or restaurant or just walking the street totally oblivious to the world around them with their head buried in an electronic device. It puts new meaning into the word “social”, or the lack of any real engagement with the people they may be with. So I became suspicious of social media the moment the “Like” button appeared on Facebook and not much has changed since. It was designed in a way that went from just having a presence on the internet to total engagement. A new documentary that aired on Netflix this month tries to explain this darker side of social media and it’s impact on society. It’s called the Social Dilemma and contains interviews with some of the former players with the big tech companies. Especially on how these social news bubbles develop where groups are targeted with content that only agrees with their views and how this propagates the spreading of misinformation and not real news. One only has to look at politics in the modern age to understand how corrosive that can be to any country. Not to mention its impact on real information with key issues needed for human survival.