Have you watched the documentary "The Social Dilemma"? If not, then you should watch it. I am sure you will get to know so many new things from it. Watching a documentary on Social media couldn't have disclosed more than we all bargained for. The movie was not just about social media, it actually touched on the psychology behind it and how we all are driven by it. Those days are gone where all of us used to spend good quality family time. Now, social media have been a large part of our lives. Growing up with the technology would have been something to look forward to, but many number of people have gone into depression and anxiety due to the overuse of technology. Even technology is one of the leading sources of low self-esteem. So, one needs to restrict its use. The documentary features top executives from Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest that provides you with an in-depth understanding of how the technology works. So, let's dive deep into all the concepts.
Table Contents
Here's what I will cover in my article #1: Why you should watch "The Social Dilemma" on Netflix? #2: What lessons I learnt after watching the documentary? #3: What are the things that you should do after watching this movie? #4: CONCLUSION
Why you should watch "The Social Dilemma" on Netflix?
Would you come to know about anything around you if you are not aware? Of course, not. It's important to be aware of everything. Right? So, this movie is kind of awareness which aware you about how Social media works and this documentary is a real eye-opener on the damaging impact social media is having on your lives and we all don't even realize it. So, for realization, you need to watch this documentary to get aware of everything related to Social media. So, I will provide you with four reasons why you should watch this documentary. 1. It will help you come to terms with your addiction There are only two industries that call their customers "Users" that is illegal drugs and software. I am damn sure that most of you think that you are not that addicted to Social media. Right? Then this documentary shatters this assumption of yours and it uses factual data to do so. It explains in detail Why and How we all are being programmed to scroll till the end of time. I am sure that, by knowing all these things your eyes would be opened. 2. It explains the devastating link between Mental health and Social media This documentary makes you aware of the bond between Social media and degrading mental health. The increasing rate of anxiety, depression and even suicide all are the result of social media. Due to Social media, we have experienced all of the above so often that we don't even realize or consider them abnormal at all and knowing this thing is so scary. Isn't it? So, this movie easily breaks this down. So, do watch it! 3. It helps you to realise the value of your attention Have you realized one thing that ever since social media has become the part of our lives your attention span has become shorter? Social media platforms want one thing from their users. Guess what is it? It is none other than your attention. They all want it and even we all are giving it to them without even realising it. So, this documentary will make you understand that your attention is priceless and yet it is being bought. 4. It will help you take control of your life This movie will scare you, worry you and even shock you. But, at the same time, it will help you too. Once you watch it, then you are going to switch off most of your notifications, set screen limits and be more present offline. Knowledge is power and trusts me that you will come out of the far better and more aware person.
What lessons did I learn after watching the documentary?
I have watched this documentary three times now and I can say that it is really an eye-opening movie. I have learned five important lessons from this movie. These are something I believe that every individual should think about whenever they turn on their phones or see a notification pop up on the phones. 1. We use phones as a digital Pacifier As teens and adults, we all have slowly lost the ability to calm and pacify ourselves with real-world activities and relationships. Instead, we all deal with our struggling emotions by using social media as a distraction. All of us forget to process our emotions because we all are surrounded by things all the time which distracts us. Isn't it? 2. We have built our lives around a sense of perfection that we need to stick to cause social media tells us Without any doubt, Social media has led to increasing mental health concerns, but the most problematic is the issue of body image. Every time you switch on your phones, you are attacked with tons of posts that give you a false sense of reality. We see models with perfect bodies and this thing instantly makes us feel self-conscious. Isn't it? Actually, it creates an unrealistic standard of beauty and makes us believe that everyone is perfect except us. But, it isn't a reality. Everyone on social media only puts the highlights of their lives, but never the downfalls. So, this thing creates a false image in our eyes that other's life is so perfect. But, the truth is something else. 3. Companies use our data to create models of us If you have seen the documentary, then you may have seen that there is a model representation of us that starts to look more and more like us throughout the movie. All the companies and software running algorithms takes all our data to produce models of us to completely portray who we are. The company which creates this perfect model wins. So, it depends on company to company. 4. Growth Hacking Growth Hacking is an entire field of study into the human brain and psychology for business growth. It is no shock that even those who have built the tools and technology even gets addicted to it themselves cause they too are humans. 5. Always try to keep you engaged Social media is not just a tool waiting to be used, it has its own aims and its own means of pursuing them. Whenever you get an email or push notifications when your friends tagged you in the post then this thing it's not just to inform you but also to keep you engaged and hooked. The main aim of every social media platform is to keep you on the platform for a longer time. So, these are some lessons that I learnt after watching this movie. What all lessons did this documentary taught you?
What are the things that you should do after watching this movie?
This is for sure that you can't change the technology, but you can change yourself. So, at the end of the movie, it provides a goal overview of the problems and also leaves you with some productive tips at the end. Only watching this movie ain't going to help you in any way. Implementing your learnings is what makes the actual change. 1. Turn off the notifications Turning off the Social media notifications is literally the first thing that you should do after watching this movie. Because notifications are the ways to keep you glued to your phones. In this movie, they have explained this thing so nicely. They explain that the notifications have become the biggest tool to increase your activity and to keep the users unnecessarily engaged. 2. Declutter your social media feeds The documentary makes a beautiful point about how much excess information is out there. It tells that the information on social media has increased a lot in a couple of decades but to your brain's capacity to process it hasn't and it totally makes so much sense. Do you need to follow every other social media handles of celebrities? No, not at all. Decluttering is a big step and one should be ready to make it. So, start Decluttering your social media feed right away. 3. Quit Doomscrolling The documentary explains in detail the downside of infinite scrolling. We all end up scrolling on various social media apps. Isn't it? With hundreds of friends on Facebook and various creators on Instagram, there's no natural way for content to get exhausted. Right? Now, it's damn easy that your scrolling turns into Doomscrolling. Well, there is so much information out there but you need not consume the whole lot off. You should be aware of what you should consume and what not. This thing will make a whole lot of difference.
4. Stop looking at your phone first thing in the morning
Never use your phones after getting up. Instead of wasting your time on Social media, utilise it wisely. Do morning exercises and meditation. It will calm you down. This documentary clearly shows that even the employees of big tech companies don't allow their children to use mobile phones for a longer time. They allow their children limited screen time. Even Steve Jobs never gave his children smartphones to use. So, it's the thing we all need to practice. Let's reduce our screen time! Good luck to all of you! So, these are the things that one should implement after watching this movie. If you will implement all these things then you would yourself see the change in you. I have been trying to reduce my screen time. So, wish me good luck. Haha! What all things you are implementing after watching this movie?
CONCLUSION
Social media has it's benefits but in the long run besides ads for money-making and other business goals, it does definitely feed into human psychology and gets up hooked. You can't change the big Tech companies overnight but you can protect yourselves. So, start small, fight the social dilemmas better you need to and carry on. So, let's close the apps, log off and spend some time doing something else. Let's spend our time wisely in doing something productive. Thank you for reading it till the end. Hope you find this post useful.
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