Family movie night: Why you should watch “The Social Dilemma”
The docu-drama The Social Dilemma won 2 Primetime Emmys this week! A huge shoutout to Jeff Orlowski, Vickie Curtis, and Davis Coombe for receiving the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program and once again to Davis Coombe for receiving the Emmy for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program.
Have you seen the movie yet? Everywhere I look, people are talking about it. Millions of people have watched it and it’s started some fantastic conversation about Big Tech designing platforms that are addictive and manipulative.
This movie is a disturbing look at the power that technology companies have to influence us without us even suspecting it. You need to watch it as a parent. Our kids are growing up in this world and they need help.
"Sleep and relationships are the competition for social media companies."
Tim Kendall
Let that sink in.
We’re getting pulled toward social media platforms at the expense of sleeping and relationships.
How do you begin to teach these big, disturbing concepts to your kids?
By talking about them and getting curious together. This movie can help you expose key concepts about the dangers of social media without “preaching” to them (which your kids will tune out anyway.)
One of the quotes that sticks with teens is:
“If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product.”
So, if you set up a free social media account, you can expect to be “sold” in some way. Your data, your privacy, your “likes”, your time. Teens don’t want to feel taken advantage of, any more than adults do, and this quote hits home.
There are three main issues that the film discusses:
The mental health dilemma--platforms that keep us "hooked"
The democracy dilemma--content that provokes us for more "engagement"
The discrimination dilemma--algorithms that are biased and discriminatory behind the scenes
"We trade our freedom for followers, our social cohesion for instant connection and the truth for what we want to hear."
Here’s an extra reason to see it right now: it’s free on YouTube this month! (Until now it’s been available with a Netflix account.)