Making waves online for its subliminal messaging, ‘The Social Dilemma’ features whistle blowers who worked for the greedy Internet companies accused of ‘tech-xploitation of bio-power’
There is a ‘now you see it, now you don’t’ scene in The Social Dilemma, where former Google design ethicist and product philosopher Tristan Harris does a vanishing coin trick. It comes about 20 minutes into the film but it is quite a metaphor for the entire arc of the documentary. Social media is always going to be a dozen steps ahead of you, even when you think you may have cracked the formula for social networking.
As most of the world continues to be home-bound, Netflix has placed audiences in the ultimate social dilemma by streaming The Social Dilemma, the latest documentary from Jeff Orlowski. In the past six months, the OTT giant has put out a plethora of documentaries on the Internet problem, so what is so different with this one that people all over the world are hyperventilating? Answer: All those swirling facts about surveillance, data collection, algorithmic power and addiction have solid corroboration straight from the people who not only worked at these companies but even helped start them or catalyse their growth. In the roughly 90-minute film, a handful of former employees of Twitter, Google, Apple, Facebook, Uber, Instagram and more recount their ethical concerns over the shifting tides of social media and power. As expected, audiences share in the discomfort of these confessionals which appear to be PSAs of sorts.
The Social Dilemma stresses that we have subverted to a lifetime of voluntary servitude online, because — especially now — it is our primary means of connection. It confronts audiences with the reality that future generations are essentially born to only be sent down a rabbit hole that is both addictive and isolating, thanks to features such as ‘doom scrolling’ — formerly known as the euphemistic ‘infinite scrolling.’ continue reading...
-Divya Kala Bhavani for The Hindu
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