The Social Dilemma: Documentary or Psychological Manipulation?
Watching Netflix’s The Social Dilemma was interesting and disturbing. It was interesting to see how it was constructed but disturbing to see that many of the psychological techniques the documentary vilified were used by the producers to tell their own story. As a persuasive piece of media, it is very successful: Part documentary, part drama, it hits all the anxiety triggers of the last few years. The content is compelling and frightening — and also one-sided. The issues raised are serious and important, but not new. The call to action is to put down your smartphone and back away, not slowly but post-haste. Not only is that totally unrealistic, but it also leaves people less equipped and more afraid, especially during a pandemic when technology can be a lifeline.
There are a lot of smart people interviewed in The Social Dilemma. Many were part of the crowd that developed the technology and processes they are currently eschewing. Many of the arguments are solid but incomplete. The research is cherry-picked, correlations are presented as causal, and — my personal peccadillo as a psychologist — the word addiction is used liberally without regard for diagnostic criteria. The film does, however, push a lot of emotional buttons and activate a powerful mental model equating social media use with the stigma of “mental illness.” By the time you…
