The negative effects of social media on our minds have long been debated and discussed. The film, Social Dilemma, directed by Jeff Orlowski, combines both drama, with a fictionalized family story, and a documentary, with real interviews, to highlight what is truly going on in our society. Tristan Harris, one of the crucial characters in the documentary,and a former design ethicist at Google, quickly discovered the ethical problems with these systems. Ultimately, we the people are the products being sold to companies, our attention, whether that be scrolling past a post, or clicking on a link, creates revenue for these organizations.
Yet, it’s not as simple as monitoring ourselves or lessening our screen time. Even Tim Kendall, a former president of Pinterest, hated admitting that even after a long day’s work he was stuck to the phone. He states, “I am going to work during the day and building something that then I’m falling prey to.” However, the harm doesn’t just end there, so many parts of our generations lives and generations to come are affected. I ask you now to check the number of hours associated with each app on your phone on your screen time settings. If that number is more than an hour and thirty three minutes, I presume you can use that time to educate yourself on what is truly happening to our minds.