A Double-Edged Sword
Social media’s meteoric rise and expansion has caused quite a stir amongst humanity. A tool created with good intentions and benefits has seemingly become corrupted and malicious. Like many of the most complex things in life, social media has done a whole lot of good and a whole lot of bad. Social media has created positive social movements, helped to connect people from anywhere in the world, helped to share important information about the world, and can even bring great joy. However, social media has also poisoned democracy and given platforms to dangerous conspiracy theorists and extremists. A double-edged sword if there ever was one.
I personally tend to stay away from documentaries unless they are nature docs or biographical docs, as I am always inherently aware that all documentaries tend to present a specific bias for or against something (even if I happen to agree with that stance), but The Social Dilemma (found on Netflix) does bring up some interesting points. Social media has become a bit of a danger in regards to algorithms and “rabbit holes” such as with the basketball star who made posts to his followers about the Earth being flat after going down a YouTube “rabbit hole”, later apologizing after he realized the truth. Social media, especially Facebook, also propagates clickbait headlines and fake news. I have experienced this firsthand, having to talk down my mom after a clickbait headline makes her go off on a rant. There are also many other larger-scale instances of social media manipulation, the biggest perhaps being the January 6th Capitol riots. The lies and misinformation given to people that ultimately led to those riots was all propagated via social media, stemming from fringe conspiracy theories and causing political extremism. Experts and watchdog groups have stated that Facebook played a role in the Capitol riots, with poor moderation efforts playing a part in fringe groups and conspiracies coming together.
If anything, though, the documentary personally just left me questioning the common sense of the people using these social networks and the internet in general. Not to come in here and act like I’m “built different” or anything, but I have always been mindful of what sources I’m getting my news from and of fact-checking anything that might seem incorrect. Internet and media literacy are a big factor in helping us to get a handle on this technological problem, and a lot of that comes down to parental teachings and the education system teaching people about the pitfalls of the internet from an early age. Parents should also be keen on monitoring children’s internet usage, perhaps not even allowing them to have a phone or tablet until middle or high school, along with teaching good social media habits. Personally, I use social media to talk to friends and find news and discussions about favorite movies/TV shows, along with other interests such as theme parks. I keep all notifications off as well, as I have never liked the random pop-ins from social sites that don’t denote a new message or the like. I am also always aware of advertisements and manipulative headlines. Even though I do tend to spend a lot of time on social media (most of that being due to the fact that we are still in a pandemic and I am not out as much as I used to be), I feel as if my social media habits are healthier than most.
Many of these social networks have started to take steps towards better moderation, adding disclaimers and directions to reputable sources onto potentially misinformation and manipulative headlines. We just have to hope that it’s not too little, too late. The responsibility for proper social media habits and media/internet literacy ultimately falls onto us. It’s like driving a car: the car can provide tools and safety nets, but ultimately the driver/user is still the one to crash it.
