Uncovering the true dilemma behind the Social Dilemma documentary

The new Netflix original documentary, The Social Dilemma has been very popular among parents of teenagers. Containing interviews with ex-CEO’s and employees of various social media sources, the documentary focuses on the underlying secrets of networks such as Snapchat and Instagram and their strategies to get individuals addicted. 

My parents forced me to watch the documentary right after it was released. Their goal was that I realize how the producers of these apps are controlling my mind and that I will breakdown and delete all social media. That was not the case. Although the information seemed legit, it was not something that I felt threatened by. The documentary claimed that the producers sat down and wrote out blueprints for when an individual will receive a notification and that they track inactivity. This just does not seem realistic to me. There is no way a group of five men sit down in a room each day and schedule notifications for one singular person’s phone. They may have programs that do similar functions, but the presentation of those took away from their argument.

The documentary is presented with a twist. Not only does it feature interviews and statistics, it goes as far as to include a fictionalized plot that is featured in between segments. This portion involves a family containing a girl in her early teens with low self esteem and a teenage son dealing with relationship issues. 

The documentary also entails the idea that social media is the sole cause of the Black Lives Matter Movement. This is entirely polarized considering little information regarding America’s history came into play. Social media issues are completely irrelevant to the political issues of our era. 

Although data collection can turn into an evil if put in the wrong hands, it is nothing that anyone should feel threatened by and is rather a method of success for these huge social media businesses.