Not as bad as I thought it'd be, as someone who came in after having already done quite a bit of reading on the topic (via books/articles often written by the folks in this documentary, I might add).
Yes, it's pretty introductory when it comes to all the behavioral/cognitive aspects of the argument against social media and goes only slightly more in depth on political polarization, with some chilling practical examples from Southeast Asia that help the doc not get too (US-centrically) political. Also there's these cringe-y narrative interludes, something that anglo documentarists seem to love, which has to straddle the line between depicting a young white man radicalizing through online conspiracies and not explicitly identifying this ideology as the, huh, alt right movement it clearly is. I tend to find Vincent Kartheiser reliably hilarious in everything, though, which also happened here, where he plays a personification of The AlgorithmTM straight out of the garbage bin of a Black Mirror writer's room.
Yet overall I think it's a pretty solid starting point, particularly given how it emphasizes that the criticism is coming from inside the house, from the very people who invented this tech. "Love that you're recommending something to undo what you made." the interviewer tells one of the guys behind the Youtube recommendation algorithm as the credits roll. After the credits are done rolling, obviously, Netflix's algorithm will recommend you something else (in my case it was Nimona) and do its countdown thingie. Which was just brilliant.
The documentary is a bit uneven, it starts somewhat slow and the most interesting parts are in the middle, when the way algorithms work is discussed. However, it is a little disappointing that these themes are not discussed in greater depth and no solutions are shown apart from pieces of advice given at the very end, which you can miss if you stop watching after the credits as many people do. I guess I would prefer reading about the dangers of social media than watching it in a movie, but this is because I remember information from books better, I wish I had taken some notes to study them later. The movie is definitely an eye-opener, though I still cannot grasp why it is wrong that I see e.g. Facebook posts on subjects that interest me such as my favourite writer instead of some random stuff I do not care a whit about it. And it seemed to me that some people are stupid taking decision on the basis of what they read on Facebook, without consulting other sources. I am also a bit disappointed that the little feature film included in the documentary finished so abruptly and we do not know what happened to the characters. I guess it was unfair that Cass got arrested as well, since she was against all this social media thing and just wanted to help her brother.
THE WACPINE OF ‘THE SOCIAL DILEMMA’
WRITING: 9
ATMOSPHERE: 9
CHARACTERS: 7
PRODUCTION: 8
INTRIGUE: 9
NOVELTY: 7
ENJOYMENT: 8
The Good:
Dealing with issues concerning social media technology and companies; their past, present and future; their downsides and threats on the society as a whole and the way they control and enslave us without our knowledge.
The strongest and most straightforward depiction of the dark sides of social media in documentary form so far.
The film faces the risks of social media without scaring audiences too much and provides alternatives and advice on how to fight back.
Industry professionals interviewed, giving us in-depth information from the inside, while also telling us why things have turned for the worse.
Effectively allows us to understand the scary future ahead of us while letting us know that all hope isn’t lost.
The concepts discussed are presented breathtakingly and interestingly.
The Bad:
The documentary hardly presents new or revolutionary ideas or concepts for those initiated with the subject matter.
The dramatized sequences in-between the interviews are terribly performed and completely unnecessary.
The Ugly:
Organizations don‘t need to hack social media platforms to control us. They just need to know how to use the tools created for them.
WACPINE RATING: 8.14 / 10 = 4 stars
Review by WscieklyKiciusBlockedParent2024-03-18T19:46:48Z
We all dig the perks of being connected — finding those friends you thought you'd lost to the sands of time and not missing out on wishing someone a happy birthday. But then there’s the downside: echo chambers, hate going viral, and getting bombarded with “news” that’s as nutritious as junk food. We love zipping messages across the globe in a heartbeat but don’t fancy our real-world chats getting bulldozed by a screen. We’re all about cherishing the good bits while giving the not-so-great parts the cold shoulder.
What I was hoping for from this movie was a no-nonsense, fact-driven dive into this tech tangle. Instead, it painted a picture of social media and the tech giants like some sort of digital Dracula, out to suck our brains dry of free will. And it kind of turned a blind eye to any research that might throw water on its fire. What really got me was how it wrapped up without handing us any sort of game plan on how to tackle the mess it laid out before us. And there are solutions! Alternative platforms, public awareness campaigns, encryption, the concepts of digital hygiene and literacy, mindful usage practices, demanding greater transparency from platforms about how their algorithms work... just to name a few.
As the credits rolled, there was this moment where they threw us a few breadcrumbs like deleting apps or ghosting your social media life, and crossing fingers that the folks in charge might do something. But seriously, is hunkering down in a digital fallout shelter and waiting for a miracle the best we can do? Tossing out social media entirely? Relying on American Congress for a lifeline? Please. That’s about as hopeful as expecting a group of toddlers to run a three-ring circus without turning it into a pie-throwing contest.
These “solutions” don’t really touch the heart of the issue. And honestly, I’d bet my last Polish Zloty that not many folks walked away from that film ready to spring into action. How could they, when the film’s basically like going to a cooking class, being shown all the ways your diet is harming you, but then not being taught any recipes to fix it? Worse, imagine the chef knows all these great, healthy recipes but decides not to share them because they assume you’re too set in your ways or not skilled enough to cook them. That’s not just leaving you hungry for solutions; it’s a complete letdown. They had a chance to dish out some real, practical advice on handling the digital overload but chose to keep the kitchen closed, sticking to a narrative that was more about stirring up fears than whipping up solutions. Why they’d go down that path, especially when they had the ingredients for something so much more helpful, is a head-scratcher. It feels like a big missed opportunity to genuinely equip viewers with the tools to navigate the digital age more wisely.