Art for Action!

Recently I came across a documentary film on Netflix called The Social Dilemma. The first time I ever noticed the film it popped up on my Netflix recommended. I watched the preview of the film and I was very intrigued as to what the documentary entailed regarding current social media. In class we have talked a lot about social movements, political polarization and addiction when it comes to social media. I thought watching a film based off of ideas such as these would be interesting and it would help in my understanding surrounding the media. The most interesting part of this documentary to me is that the people being interviewed are tech experts who played important roles in the upbringing of apps such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. There is a sense of irony in this because the experts who created these apps are now the ones trying to warn our current generations about the dangerous impact of social networking.

This film has motivated me to take more notice of my social media, how it’s influencing me, and ways I could improve my social media presence. Allowing myself to be more involved in more accounts having to do with social change, environmental problems and human rights issues rather than pointless scrolling, will make social media a more positive outlet. This film has really opened my eyes to the influence of social media. It knows everything about you; what you like, what you don’t, and what is going to get you to click and be more engaged with your phone. This can be very toxic, so by changing the way that I use my phone and social media I can avoid being sucked into its trap. This is a process and it’s going to take me some time to change the way I use my phone. I know I will not be able to completely alter the way I use it either, but if I can make changes in what I follow and how long I limit my screen time, it will make a world of a difference! Apps use artificial intelligence and social networking to control your social media and find ways for it to be directed and marketing towards you and your likings. This is very interesting because it begins to affect our psychological behavior and make us addicted to our screens. This is not something that just affects a few, social media impacts everyone, even those who don’t use it. Through social media are movements, social change, division, protests etc.

There is good and there is bad; we need to be able to control AI (artificial intelligence) and social networking programs before it creates strict divisions in our nation that are irreversible. Steps I’m taking to make a change are: decreasing my screen time, following more accounts that raise awareness about current societal issues, unfollowing accounts I don’t look at often, and helping others understand the issues with today’s present social media.

We are the action, we just have to know how to change.