Social Dilemma

A few months ago I watched the Social Experiment on Netflix with Cerian.

Although already having an existing awareness of the potential for good or bad for these social platforms, I was still surprised at how much they are shaping and influencing the world in which we live.

Elections, echo chambers and excessive amounts of date and financial gain for a few based on the exploitation of the masses. With free data willingly provided by the public, social media platforms purposefully if not aggressively strategise and implement ways to grab and keep our attention to reap financial gain. Every ping, like, thumbs up and emoji is a simple yet powerful way to keep our attention consequently increasing profitability.

However, knowing this doesn’t make it any easier. I deleted social media apps from my devices and set daily time limits but they seem to creep back on over time. I have to use social media for work. Some social groups only communicate using social media groups and chat. It’s a flipping nightmare! Now I find myself trying to blog instead of writing whimsical lines of how I feel, what I’m up to or a self help one liner…. but where will I share my blog? Yes, exactly it. Still, the more existential question is, why do I want to share these aspects of my life with others anyway? Let’s not open that compartment of Pandora’s box. I jest, it is a serious question for modern culture - why do we want / need to share so much with so many when we all know it’s perfectly normal and healthier to share life with a few close, trusted and faithful group of family and friends? The extent of artificial intelligence that is been developed based on masses in society sharing our emotions is unfathomable.

This is not a blog with any answers but rather just the ongoing wrestling with the prevalence of social media yet the desire, intent and slow trajectory to be evermore counter cultural.