Earlier this month, Netflix started streaming the movie The Social Dilemma. It was first screened at Sundance earlier this year, and now is widely available. Since its release, it has been widely reviewed.
The film combines documentary-style interviews with leading nerds behind Facebook, Twitter, Uber, Instagram, etc. along with star turns from Shoshana Zuboff, Jaron Lanier and Renee Diresta. The thesis is that the social giants have sold us and our data down the river, and we now are stuck with them. The New York Times review is mostly positive, saying the interview subjects are “conscientious defectors from these companies who explain that the perniciousness of social networking platforms is a feature, not a bug.” The best interview subject is Tristan Harris, a former design ethicist at Google who now runs a non-profit called the Center for Humane Technology.
You can read my extensive review of the film on the Avast blog here. The film could be one small step to help understand the role that social media plays in our lives. It could also help start some conversations with the less tech-savvy family members and friends.
You can also listen to my podcast as Paul Gillin and I discuss our reactions to the movie and what B2B marketers can takeaway from it.
One of my friends and readers, @dudumimran, wrote to me:
I tend to agree with you. I think this whole culture of optimizing for addiction which seems to be the most profitable way to juice people from their time and resources is the normal and FB is under the spotlight but it is not only them. Take for example Netflix and people watching content over there for full days or spotify and many other examples. FB optimization found its sweet spot in creating conflicts and contradicting conversations which lead to many societal phenomena but they are just an over emphasized example of the culture which sacrifices everything for another great quarter. Add to that the economy which isn’t booming in recent decade and you get a greater quarter built on the misery of people. That’s why I think nothing will be regulated or fixed in a serious manner as the roots are buried in our lifestyle and values.