Have you seen the Netflix docudrama, The Social Dilemma? If you haven’t, I would recommend it. Called by some as the most important documentary of our times, it provides a startling analysis of our social-media-driven culture. Through interviews with numerous former Big Tech executives, the film examines the meteoritic rise of social media over the last decade and its damaging effects on our mental and societal health, including its capacity to make us addicts to our social media feeds and its correlation to the increase in teenage suicide rates. It also explores its role in the polarization of politics and spreading conspiracy theories. The film reveals how Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google, YouTube, and other Big Tech companies “use” us to mine our data and sell it to advertisers. But they are not only selling our data–Big Tech makes billions by predicting our behaviors through our online viewing and by keeping our attention (or keeping us addicted). Notifications are designed to keep us coming back for more, and algorithms choose the content we want to see so that we will stay on their platforms. These powerful algorithms are the “drugs” that keep us online. These platforms keep bringing us the content we want to see, even the “news” we want to see, so that we only see the world around us through the narrow lens the algorithms serve up for us. Depending on our political bent, we will be fed only the type of news and content that feed that bent. The documentary claims that feeding only news stories that conform to a reader’s ideological viewpoints has been a driving factor in the extreme polarization we see in our country (and around the world).
SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM
This new reality is called “Surveillance Capitalism,” a phrase coined by Harvard professor Shoshana Zuboff (who appears in the film) to describe how technology companies take our behavioral data and package it as “prediction products” and sell that to businesses (including advertisers). Google did it first, but now this occurs just about everywhere. It is like a “one-way mirror,” where the technology companies see all we do, but we can’t see how they are using our behaviors, likes, clicks, purchases, etc. The film makes the case that we, as individuals, are no match for the algorithms, which are continually surveilling us to present to us the news, stories, goods, or services we want. We are thus being manipulated, and the effects (as we now see) are damaging: the extreme polarization in our culture, and teens becoming addicted to their smartphones, basing their self-esteem on every “like.” The film presents a gloomy picture for the future, and at one point, former Google executive Tristan Harris says that we are at a time that he calls “Checkmate Humanity.”
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM HERE?
What struck me about this film is that although the scale is larger and the geography is virtual, the story is the same story that has plagued humanity from the beginning. The Big Tech companies are clearly motivated by making money off of us, and we, like addicts, are using social media fill the holes in our lives, gladly accepting what is dished out to us.
The film begins with the interviewer asking various experts, “What’s the actual problem here?” Many respond by silence or shaking their heads – they don’t seem to know how to articulate the problems they see. Former Google ethicist Tristan Harris says there are so many problems it’s hard to know where to start. But at the core, it seems that our secular culture has fostered an “I World” where “Me” is at the center, and Big Tech (like a drug dealer or an arms broker) is selfishly making their billions off of my desire to make “Me” the center of the universe.
THE SOCIAL DILEMMA
The film offers a few solutions toward the end, such as better government regulation and users simply turning off their notifications. A few interviewees castigate capitalism as the culprit, seeming to call for a more socialistic society. But just as technology in itself has brought great benefits to humanity, so has capitalism. Neither technology nor capitalism is the problem. As one interviewee comments, technology has brought amazingly good things to humanity–almost like magic. Instead, it is what we choose to do with technology that is the problem and the answer. That is the “social dilemma.” Can humanity be trusted with technology? Can humanity be trusted with any “good” in this material world, and where do the answers lie for us as humans to be able to “tame” the destructiveness and selfishness of our humanity? The heart of the problem is the same as it has always been: a heart problem. As Russian philosopher Alexander Solzhenitsyn observed, “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either – but right through every human heart.” Or as the prophet Jeremiah lamented, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9). But thank God there is a cure for the human heart, and as Christians, we do not despair. The core problem is the same as it has always been, and the cure is still the same as well: an acknowledgment of God and our need for him, and the transformation of the human heart by the unconditional love of God. Transformed by God’s love, we look first at our own heart, acknowledging our selfishness and needs, and realize they can only be filled (and filled to the full) by the grace and truth of Almighty God. Transformed by God’s love, we can decipher the forces in this world that are motivated by greed and selfishness, but we are not afraid of them. As God declared to Jeremiah, “So there is hope for the future!” (Jer. 31:17).
A WAKE-UP CALL
The Social Dilemma is a wake-up call for all of us, but especially for Christians. What can we do? To be honest, I am still processing all of this, but here are some of my current thoughts which I hope are helpful:
1. Realize we are being manipulated by social media. Part of that manipulation is in the constant notifications. A good starting point would be to turn off the notifications; take a break from social media. We also need to acknowledge that the news we are being fed on social media is the news we want to hear, and not always the actual facts or reality. The film’s dramatization of a family shows how social media can distort our views, and the film tracks the rise of polarization in our country with the rise in social media. At that point, Tristan Harris says “We need the truth.” Truth is indeed what we need, but getting at truth requires hard work and discipline. It is easy to go along with what is spoon-fed to us and believe it is really “us versus them.” But truth demands we admit our own biases and be diligent in seeking the facts in any given situation. As James said, we should all be “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry” (James 1:19).
2. Don’t Conform to This World but Be Transformed by the Renewing of our Minds. As Christians, we are not pawns. Jesus said we should love God with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind (Luke 10:27). Whatever we allow to go into our minds will determine our behavior, and so we need to be vigilant about what we look at and listen to, and it should all be filtered by the Scriptures. And so Paul tells us “Don’t be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). Compare the restlessness you have from reading polarizing Facebook posts with the peace of God Paul writes about: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. And the God of peace will be with you” (Phil. 4:8, 9).
3. It Matters What We Say and How We Say. As Christians, there are times when responding on social media is necessary, and we should speak out against injustice in all forms. We should speak truthfully, but as Christians, we “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15, 25). As Paul urged, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Eph. 4:29). It matters not only what we say, but how we say it. Because I represent Jesus Christ, I need to be extremely careful about how I express any post on any social media platform, following the admonitions of Scripture: “Let your conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt” (Col. 4:5); “Do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15); “Slander no one, be peaceable and considerate, and show true humility toward all people: (Titus 3:2); “The Lord’s servant must not be divisive, but instead be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful” (2 Timothy 2:24). The poison of divisiveness that our political climate breeds, accelerated by social media, has no place among Christians. “They will know you are my disciples by how you love each other” (John 13:35).
4. Protect our children. Finally, we must be vigilant to protect our children. Let me share some helpful counsel from one wise youth pastor:
- Parents should Google every single app their kids download (this should be a restricted feature) by searching “Dangers of app name.” This will open up an accountable conversation if they decide to let their student use the app for its positive features.
- Explore the built in features of your kids’ smart phones for protections and safeguards.
- To protect against ever-prevalent pornography, download “Covenant Eyes.” It has a yearly fee, but may be worth it to some parents in those last 5-6 years of their kids at home. It basically sends a report of all activity to the account manager.