5 Things We Learned From “The Social Dilemma”

A Review of the Netflix special released in 2020

by Ashby Hayes

In early January 2020 – before the masses were aware of the COVID-19 pandemic that was about to shake the world – a new Netflix documentary popped up. It told us that when it came to Social Media and the culture around it…our culture…all was not what it seemed.

Ironically, it was through social media that we learned about the film. And maybe even more ironically, since the documentary was released, we are now using social media more than ever before.

We learned a lot and we learned that we need to keep learning about how our data, our information, and our behavior is being used to make money and manipulate us.

1 – Almost nothing we do is truly private

In 2014, The Atlantic published an article titled, “Google Knows You Better Than You Know Yourself.” They talked about all the ways we are being tracked, internet usage, calendars, emails, purchases, location….how Google had build an engine…and intelligence…that was learning who we are.

Think about how much more they are tracking us now. How much more they know. 

Today, there’s a valid argument to be made that Google, along with other companies, truly do know some people better than they know themselves. The worst part? Many people still don’t realize this. And even for some that do, they don’t realize how intrusive this can be to one’s privacy. 

“Human beings are not totally awesome at distinguishing between the things we’d like to like and do and the things we actually like and do.” 

– James Carmichael, The Atlantic, “Google Knows You Better Than You Know Yourself“

The Social Dilemma was a great step forward for people, but we need to keep up the momentum. We need to create a movement. A Data Justice movement. Don’t agree? Do you know how many companies have your data? Try making a list…

Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Apple, Amazon…your grocery store…your car dealer…the place you bought your sneakers from…and thousands of data brokers who bought or scraped your data from sites you gave your data to willingly.

2 – Our data is a VALUABLE resource

“Data is the new oil.”

– The Economist 2017

Think about it how valuable the collective data of billions of people can be. Think about the companies that collect and house this data. Our data. They are sitting on almost limitless reserves of personal information. They have teams of data scientists working to figure out new ways to identify and monetize behavior patterns. They can predict what you want, when you want it, and how to best deliver it to you so you’ll click on it. The value is in the ability to predict your behavior in order to manipulate your behavior.

Why do you think hackers do what they do? Why is there a constant stream of headlines about the latest data breech? Because gaining access to data yields value – immense value. Sure they can pretend to be you and steal your credit card information, but that’s a rookie move, the real value is long term in processing that data, mining it for nuggets of gold that will be used to make money or worse…gain power. From the essence of who you are.

3 – Companies know what they’re doing

They know how much your data is worth. They know how businesses are using your data.

Do not think for one second that Facebook or Google or Amazon is an innocent in any of these equations. Some of the smartest people in the world work at these companies…actually many of the smartest people in the world work at these companies. They know what they are doing. They pay thousands of people to do it. Every day.

Many of these employees have left, their consciences could no longer justify the ethical consequences of their inventions. Now, in the Social Dilemma, a few of them are trying to tell the world the truth.

“I think the tools that have been created today are starting to erode the social fabric of how society works.”

– Chamath Palihapitiya, Former Facebook VP of Growth

4 – People are vulnerable to manipulation

“If something is a tool, it genuinely is just sitting there, waiting patiently. If something is not a tool it’s demanding things from you. It’s seducing you, it’s manipulating you, it wants things from you. We’ve moved away from a tools based technology environment, to an addiction and manipulation used technology environment. Social media isn’t a tool waiting to be used. It has its own goals, and it has its own means of pursuing them by using your psychology against you.” – 

– Tristan Harris, former design ethicist at Google and co-founder of Centre for Humane Technologies

We all have egos, we want to be told we are smart, beautiful, talented, and online…subconsciously we want to be told we are ‘right.’ That our opinions, ideas, and feelings are justified. Advertisers figured this out a century ago but until the age of social media, we knew the difference between an ad and the news. We had ways to easily see through the slick sales veneer. Now everything is branding. Everything is spin. Truth is hard to find.

“Before you share, fact check. Consider the source. Do that extra Google. If it seems like it’s designed to push your emotional buttons, it probably is.”

Renée Diresta, research manager of Stanford Internet Observatory, former head of policy at Data for Democracy

Companies like Apple have taken a step in the right direction with privacy controls and tools such as “Screen Time.” We hope that more companies will pay attention to more than just Data Privacy. We need companies with a conscience. We need them to build products that put people’s best interests first rather than their own.

5 – We need to protect our data and ourselves

“I’ve uninstalled a ton of apps from my phone that I felt were wasting my time. All the social media apps, all the news apps and I’ve turned off notifications on anything that was vibrating my leg with information that wasn’t timely and important to me right now. It’s for the same reason that I don’t keep cookies in my pocket.”

– Justin Rosenstein, former engineer at Facebook and Google, co-fonder of Asana