The Social Dilemma and Addiction to Social Media
In the Tech Review article by Karen Hao, the ethics of self driving cars are discussed at length. The question “who should a self-driving car kill?” is proposed. Questions of ethics are regularly brought up in the discussion of autonomous vehicles, but these questions are not raised in social media. This has allowed social media companies to create algorithms specifically designed to get their users addicted. These addictions have caused a large increase in depression and anxiety which have led to increased rates of suicide. So, if both self-driving cars and social media can have ethical implications dealing with death, why does social media get a pass?
Social Media originated as a means to communicate with others online. When many people began using social media, a monetary opportunity was created for both the social media companies and companies that needed to sell products.
With this goal, users become the products that tech companies sell to advertisers, so both parties wanted to keep these users engaged as often as possible. To accomplish this, social media companies designed platforms that kept users scrolling.
Not only have more sites been released, but these sites have also been designed to be increasingly addictive, which has contributed to the epidemic of suicide our world faces today.
When I created my Instagram account, the focus of the app was on sharing and viewing the photos of accounts you followed. This format has now nearly been eradicated entirely.
Instagram is filled with ads tailored to each user. Additionally, Instagram has a shopping section — yes, a shopping section. After viewing the Social Dilemma, I realized the power of notifications and “recommended” pages, where social media sites promote user-specific content. Case in point, the goal of social media is now to produce the largest amount of profit possible by manipulating users.
I never questioned my social media usage. I never overused it and was sure to put my phone away when with others. However, this was before viewing The Social Dilemma. The documentary asks the audience to look at the screen time report on their phone. I was shocked to see my average time spent was hours per day.
Because people do not die directly from social media sites and the high profit these sites create, there has been little regulation put into place. However, regulation similar to that of self-driving cars is necessary to combat the suicide epidemic that these sites have helped create. Raising user awareness through documentaries like the Social Dilemma is beneficial, but the issue cannot be resolved without regulation on the design of social media algorithms.
References:
Fox, Chris. “Social Media: How Might It Be Regulated?” BBC News, BBC, 12 Nov. 2020, www.bbc.com/news/technology-54901083.
Hao, Karen. “Should a Self-Driving Car Kill the Baby or the Grandma? Depends on Where You’re from.” MIT Technology Review, MIT Technology Review, 2 Apr. 2020, www.technologyreview.com/2018/10/24/139313/a-global-ethics-study-aims-to-help-ai-solve-the-self-driving-trolley-problem/.
Relias Academy. “Suicide & Depression Epidemic in America Resource for Healthcare Professionals.” Relias Academy, Relias Academy, 26 Feb. 2021, reliasacademy.com/rls/store/suicide-epidemic-and-how-to-prevent-suicide.
Search, Broadband. “Average Time Spent Daily on Social Media (Latest 2020 Data).” BroadbandSearch.net, 2020, www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/average-daily-time-on-social-media.
