We are told time and time again that we spend too much time on our phones. The average teen today spends four hours online. Including school, homework and other day to day tasks that doesn't seem too worrying. However, with a generation reported to be more depressed than ever, suicide and self harm rates rising exponetially all of which seem to have direct links to social media usage, it starts to get very worrying.
The recent netflix documentary “the social dilemma” aims to shed light on why our favourite apps are so addictive and intends to address why we see such worrying trends in data. The documentary features some of Silicon Valley's most esteemed thinkers including Jeff Seibert, former executive of Twitter, Tim Kendall, ex-president of Pinterest, and Sean Parker ex-president of Facebook. Throughout the program they give us the insider information on how they have participated in creating these addictive algorithms, each carrying their own guilt for their input into this creation. Justin Rosenstein, founder of the ‘like’ button, confessed ‘It was supposed to spread positivity’.
The documentary exposes the secrets of big tech companies from highly skilled algorithms with detailed knowledge of our behaviour to buying and selling your data and personal information. However the program has run into some controversy. The information that it includes whilst very detailed does not expose things that we didn't already really know. Neither, unfortunately are the solutions. Uninstalling apps, not watching your recommended videos and exposing yourself to opinions that oppose your own are not new ideas and have been said to be about as useful as a therapist saying ‘don’t do drugs’ to a child with a family history of addiction.
