The Social Dilemma - What’s my take on the debate? I’d have to say I’m down the middle and here’s why…
Like many of you, I’ve recently watched Netflix’ documentary / drama called The Social Dilemma. Coming from the world of digital marketing, not only did I find the programme fascinating, however having discussed it amongst friends and family, I also found people’s reaction very interesting too. What’s my take on the debate? I’d have to say I’m down the middle and here’s why…
The two recurring themes that stood out were the collection and use of our data and how as society we have become so reliant and addicted to social media, which I believe come hand in hand.
The Data Issue
A controversial topic relevant today is the UK's NHS Track & Trace App. I have spoken to so many people who are refusing activate the app due to their basic privacy rights and with the worry of being ‘watched’ (even I have questioned this) however those same people have no objective to being active on social media channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or TikTok, so isn't this the same thing?
As an agency that runs paid social media campaigns, the business model relies heavily on these social media platforms gathering user’s data and without this, it wouldn’t be possible to do.
With my digital marketing hat on, I do think that it’s therefore necessary for us to be served ads that we would want to see. For example, if my favourite shop (The White Company) is having a sale, the best way to let me know if via Instagram and they do exactly that. It’s content that I want to see and they know that given the number of times I’ve been and shopped on their website, therefore I’m not offended by this, in fact I’m a sucker for a good sale, therefore surely this use of data is a good thing right?
The Addiction Issue
However, how much data is too much data and is this why we’re getting so addicted? How many times have you been talking about something, to then be served an ad hours later? At that point, I personally do question it, though still believe an element of it is extremely clever.
I've recently found myself a little addicted to TikTok. It's amazing how you go on to the app and find yourself an hour later still scrolling. I'm quite aware that you can get yourself into a 'TikTok hole' therefore I do try to not use the app for days at a time, at which point i'll get a few notifications from them. When watching The Social Dilemma, something resonated with me. I don't get notifications from TikTok daily, it's only when I've not used the app for some time. I didn't really notice it before, however now it's seemingly obvious that they want me back on the app and this is something i'm not sure that I'm comfortable with.
For me, there were two key takeaways from the documentary :
1. Turn off your notifications.
Why? We are encouraged to pick up are phones as much as possible, when without a notification we may not have. I do believe we can help ourselves here. I’ll put my hand up and say I can’t live in no social media world, however I know that I can restrict my use. How many times do we open Instagram, close it and then pick it up again 5 seconds later to see nothing new? I must admit, I do enjoy Instagram’s feature where it shows you the message saying ‘You’re all caught up’ or the alert you get when you set spent your capped limit. If you’ve not set that up yet, I’d highly recommend it.
2. Follow and engage on which oppose your day to day views. (Dare I say the 'P' word aka Politics)
Why? Well for me personally, I tend to follow things of the same view, which in turn means that you are served the same content, which doesn’t allow any room for an opposing opinion, which I think can’t be healthy in any scenario.
Have you watched The Social Dilemma, what are your views? I would love to hear your thoughts! If you've not watched it, I would definitely recommend checking it out.
M x
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