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About this show

Video essays that explore the intersection of art, culture, and big ideas written & produced by FEE's Director of Media, Sean W. Malone.

The Social Dilemma is Dangerously Wrong... Part II

December 10, 2020

Support Out of Frame on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/OutofFrameShow

Check out our podcast, Out of Frame: Behind the Scenes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiS5rEmhnLwo1IG9bgr19Og

Social Dilemma Pt. I: https://youtu.be/Z8Nh5U5cyk4

If you haven’t seen Part I yet, click the link above. ^^

This documentary was so awful, we had to make two parts! In Part I, we discussed misplaced fear over social media fostering political tribalism and using advertising to manipulate your everyday behavior.

For Part II, we’ll discuss the effect social media actually has on your well-being. As Tristan Harris and others would have you believe, social media is the root cause for rising mental health issues, especially among teens and pre-teens.

While it is true that mental health is getting worse, correlation doesn’t imply causation—and we might be neglecting all of the positive benefits social media has on society, like fostering connections and reducing feelings of social isolation.

And while ‘The Social Dilemma’ tries it’s best to scare you and make it seem like you’re not in control of your own life, you most definitely are. You have agency. You also have the ability to shape the behavior of social media companies by voicing your concern and voting with your time and your wallet.

So our advice is… don’t buy what ‘The Social Dilemma’ is selling.

CREDITS:

Produced by Sean W. Malone
Written by Sean W. Malone
Edited by Arash Ayrom & Sean W. Malone
Asst. Edited by Jason Reinhardt
Thanks to Matt Tabor

LINKS:

-- Psychology of Social Media --

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/ventral-tegmental-area

https://www.allpsychologyschools.com/psychology/social-media-psychology/

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324372

-- Center for Humane Technology Policy --

https://www.humanetech.com/policy-reforms

https://www.humanetech.com/policy-principles

https://www.ft.com/content/abd80d98-595e-11ea-abe5-8e03987b7b20

-- US Government vs. Privacy --

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XKeyscore

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-23123964

https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/13/facebook-says-government-demands-for-user-data-are-at-a-record-high/

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/government-expanding-its-social-media-surveillance-capabilities

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/11/06/new-government-spy-report-your-social-media-is-probably-being-watched-right-now/?sh=93cdafa4f99a

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-on-the-net/2019/the-crisis-of-social-media/social-media-surveillance

-- China vs. Privacy --

https://time.com/collection/davos-2019/5502592/china-social-credit-score/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/business/china-coronavirus-internet-police.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2020/07/25/beware-tiktok-really-is-spying-on-you-new-security-report-update-trump-pompeo-china-warning/

-- Russia vs. Privacy --

https://www.them.us/story/russia-surveilling-students-social-media-lgbtq-activity

-- Regulating the Internet is a Bad Idea --

https://fee.org/articles/should-can-fake-news-be-regulated/

https://fee.org/articles/the-downside-of-regulating-facebook/

https://fee.org/articles/creating-a-fairness-doctrine-for-the-internet-is-a-really-bad-idea/

https://fee.org/articles/trying-to-regulate-online-speech-will-only-make-censorship-worse/

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