The Social Dilemma documentary released on Netflix on Sep. 9, 2020 has taken the internet by storm, the Social Dilemma, exposes how social media is designed to make users addicted through creating an individual feed by tracking users’ media habits.  In the documentary, various inventors such as the creators of Google Design Ethicist, the “like” button on Facebook,  Pinterest and Twitter, describe their experiences which led to them leaving their respective companies. 

The documentary is an exposure on why the creators chose to leave their companies. The inventors all spoke their ethical concerns about the direction the company was taking by making social media more addicting.

“The companies behind our social feeds are preying on us by nurturing our addiction through persuasive technology,” Tristan Harris said, the Former Google Design Ethicist, in the documentary.

“It’s not enough that you use the product unconsciously. I [The companies] want to dig deeper into the brain stem and implant inside of you an unconscious habit,” Harris said.

The documentary brought up some startling methods which are used to create addictions within their users. “There are only two industries that call their customers ‘users’: illegal drugs and software,” Edward Tufte said.

This documentary opened my eyes to a lot of ideas that I had never thought of. 

The documentary has gone viral and is impacting adults and teens alike.

“I think it’s crazy how much companies have access to our minds but I also think companies have been doing that in every way possible for forever,” senior, Emma Whipple said.

“We need to create easier ways to get off of social media but I don’t feel like the advertising overall is as horrible as they made it seem. They just need to stop making all social media so addictive”Whipple strongly believes that this documentary has opened her eyes on many things that she did not even think about before. 

“I feel like this documentary would be really good for everyone with social media to see. Just so they can create their own opinion on it and decide if they want to use social media as much,” Wipple said. 

Adults are just as shocked about the effects of social media as teens like Whipple. “ I wasn’t fully aware of the extent of data mining and “fishing” they do on each person. It definitely made me more aware and more angry,” Josh Anderson said, an adult that has watched this documentary. 

“For now, I have deleted my social media. I worry about the future and don’t want any part in that,”  Anderson said. 

Overall, this documentary has been a wake up call for many people. Most people agree that things need to be changed.