Having been recommended by a few friends to watch this Netflix documentary, we did so a few nights ago. It was, arguably, the most unnerving movie I’ve seen in years. Having worked in digital marketing for a decade or so, I have a sense of how all of this online stuff works. But this film pulled away the “layers of the onion” so profoundly that I can’t stop thinking about how corrosive and destructive social media has become. We have devolved into a culture of “clicks, likes and shares” and most of us have little idea of how our seemingly benign online actions can have devasting effects to our very lives. If that sounds a bit melodramatic, it might be, but that doesn’t change what is true.
The movie is based around a mythical suburban family and shows them struggling with the addictive impact forged by online activity. Behind the scenes is a nefarious trio of “bots” (played by Vincent Kartheiser of “Mad Men” fame) literally pushing all of our emotional buttons to get what they want from us. The control these social portals have over us is real and the consequences don’t bode well for any of us if we don’t employ more discipline in our – and our family’s – online activities.
The principals in The Social Dilemma are former high-level execs from all the well-known platforms: Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn and so many others. What’s interesting is that these folks left their companies “for ethical reasons.” Hmmmmmm! To a person, they all waxed poetic about “the early days” when they were engaged in creating something clever and revolutionary, that could connect millions, if not billions of “users.” Unfortunately, once monetized, these social outlets quickly become monsters that demanded to be fed, in order to return profits, growth and shareholder value to their respective stakeholders. The noteworthy cast of The Social Dilemma includes Tim Kendall (former president of Pinterest and ex-Director of Monetisation at Facebook), Jaron Lanier (author of Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now), Chamath Palihapitiya (Facebook former VP of growth and CEO of Social Capital), and Tristan Harris (co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology who used to work at Google and is the driving force of the documentary).
Not lost on me as I write this blog are the many quotes from the movie that were attention getters for me, and should be for you, too. Here are just a few:
- “There are only two industries that call their customers ‘users’: illegal drugs and software.”
- “Social media is a marketplace that trades exclusively in human futures.”
- “The very meaning of culture is manipulation.”
- “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
- “If you’re not paying for the product, then you’re the product.”
- “It’s the gradual, slight, imperceptible change in our own behavior and perception that is the product.”
- “We want to psychologically figure out how to manipulate you as fast as possible.”
- “If you want to control the population of the country, there is no better tool as effective as Facebook.”
When I read these quotes, I arrive at the unnerving conclusion that we are being played on a massive scale and we’re the ones buying into the con! We have made billionaires out of the people we thought were creating something for our “enjoyment.” One of Google’s early mantras was to “…do no harm.” Well, how’s that working out?
One of the more striking moments in the film comes when director Jeff Orlowski (acting as interviewer) tries to get to the root of the matter, in addressing the negative impact social media has had on society. Orlowski asks several of the execs a simple question, “…so what’s the problem?” Almost to a person, the exec on the other end of the question squirmed in his/her chair and looked around, struggling to find an answer. Talk about a telling moment!! More than once, an interviewee pointed out that a high-tech innovation like social media, and the power and profit they generate, may need an old school solution: regulation. Sadly though, the tech giants have figured out how to pre-empt any such thing from happening, by sprinkling vast sums of money throughout all of congress…both sides of the aisle!
With these revelations, it should be no surprise how these execs feel about their own families and their use of social media. Aside from confessing their own addictions to email, text messages and push notifications, they were more direct when it got closer to home. One exec said, “I’ve uninstalled a ton of apps from my phone that I felt were just wasting my time, and I’ve turned off notifications.” Another said, “Never accept a video recommended to you on YouTube. Always choose on your own. That’s another way to fight.” And, most profoundly, “Before you share, fact check. If it seems like something is designed to push your emotional buttons, it probably is.” For the record, all of these execs have rules (boundaries) in their own households regarding how, when and where the use of social media is permitted – especially among their children! Maybe we should consider doing the same in our households?
At the end of the film, I sat in stunned silence as I watched the credits roll in front of my eyes. It made me sad, mad, and reflective, and I have some things to think about with my social media usage from now on. That being said, are we going to throw our gadgets and devices away? Nope, it ain’t gonna happen. But what we should and better do is become much more aware of how these portals are impacting our behavior. Everything you post, every meme you share, every game or quiz you play and every photo or video you watch…all of it is being monitored, recorded and dissected, and every bit and byte of the data generated by this activity is being skillfully mined to maximize the aforementioned profits of the social media giants. Remember, you are the product.
If you have Netflix, watch the movie.
Be guided accordingly.
That is all.
Graphics source: Netflix
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