The Social Dilemma: How to Dial Down Your Internet Activity
Spoiler alert — please proceed at your discretion.
Quarantining in 2020 is not so bad at all thanks to plethora of time it creates. Watching series, cooking, learning something new, you name it.. though sometimes the boredom is what really gets you.
And that was me.
I swiped so many Instagram stories couple months ago and noticed a pattern — people sharing this documentary on Netflix called The Social Dilemma. It got quite a following among my circle, so I thought: “Eh, probably just another serie that I can’t really commit to at the moment.”
I was wrong.
I decided to give it a shot and boy, I was beyond shocked on what the documentary gave.
It’s the Silicon Valley people that built like buttons, the tech ethicist (yes that IS a job), early Facebook investor, an HBS professor (!)… all those Valley superstars giving the insights behind these massive social media we all knew today. And they seemed guilty on seeing their creation is used to generate money.
I’m no data expert, but from what I can tell after watching that, social media are intentionally designed to be as engaging as possible in order to grab our attention and monetize it through ads. This practice is often called data mining in the industry — i.e. collecting how much time we spend on our devices and our sensitive information.
It’s nothing new, really. The documentary may have a dark, ominous undertone to it yet it’s packed in a way that’s sobering to the masses. We have taken social media for granted, because it connects pretty much people from far away places…and we fail to recognize the scheme behind infinite scrollings, hearts, likes, retweets, time being spent. The very technology that was intended to fulfill our social desires has turned into a powerful machine that stores a lot about ourselves — unconsciously.
To be honest, I am one of those people that’s overly paranoid about my data being exposed. Well, thanks to the cybersecurity lesson back in college AND another Netflix documentary about Cambridge Analytica, I have been actively securing my personal data, from taking down highly personal information, turning on two-factor authentication on my social media, and even going as far as unchecking personalized ads and interests. I want more control of my data.
Though I am yet to contribute in data industry, I have been a victim in an unregulated data environment. Three times, as far as I can count. The first was a spoof Facebook account of me adding my high school friends (shoutout to my friend Linus for noticing that fake account). Another one was my Instagram account being hacked due to me foolishly clicked a link that allowed someone in New York City to access my account. The damage was horrifying I had to turn off my Instagram for couple days. And the latest happened couple months ago where I applied to a fake job application. That was the last straw, since I unknowingly submitted my resume and my college diploma to some irresponsible people profiting off my data.
That is why I agree with the Valley people for more regulations on data. By treating data as a commodity (i.e. being taxed or put a collection cap), it may bring a disincentive for tech firms to not collect infinite amount of data unnoticed.
Until a law has passed about data, some little steps might help:
- Turn off your ad preferences and interests. Every social media we knew already have this option.
- Turn off your social media notifications. This helps to reduce your time being spent. Tip: spare it only for the most important.
- Always double-check things off Internet. Be it news, social media accounts, websites’ credibility, the handlings of your data…
- Be selective on where to put your data. Notice anything suspicious.
- Understand how data collection can be double-edged sword; it may be beneficial for some and may be harmful for “other purposes”.
#OwnYourData
