I still recall the excitement of my first encounter with interactive communication via the internet. It was the late 1980s. I was studying a ‘Computers in Education’ course at Massey University for my BA degree course. Dr Ken Ryber, the Course Controller, was an enthusiast for technology that expedited interactive learning opportunities for differently abled students, and welcomed opportunities for researchers to collaborate, irrespective of the geographical distance between them. To witness this technology in action was mind-blowing. I recall observing Ken’s face, puffed with excitement, as he expressed his own amazement at the future capability of this astonishing technology’s power to change people’s learning lives for the better.
I’m sure, like many of us, Dr Ryber viewed technological innovation as a public good – a means of instantly and cheaply connecting people by email, through public or private forums and chat rooms. Technology could now remove barriers of distance, empower democracy, reduce inequities, and facilitate inclusion, inspiring a healthy, connected society.
A little more than three decades later, we find our much-anticipated technology has morphed into mainstream usage in ways, and at a speed we would never have imagined. Many of the 1980s dreams have been realised and surpassed, but alongside all the good and useful outcomes are just as many damaging ones. It is not just a force for positivity which is why the big tech companies are now under a high level of scrutiny.
This article will focus on just one aspect – how social media affects our young people today. More recently however, we have witnessed the entrance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to our schools – most notably, ChatGPT. In subsequent issues of this year’s New Zealand Principal, we will investigate AI further.
An invitation by the US Consulate, to participate in a viewing of the documentary ‘The Social Dilemma’, was an irresistible opportunity to learn more.As the promotional material promised, the documentary revealed some terrifying examples of manipulation of social media users. It showcased interviews with former employees of major tech companies, industry insiders and tech experts. It examined how social media platforms are designed and how algorithms are invented to capture users’ attention and keep them engaged. Furthermore, it highlighted the addictive nature of social media and its potential to contribute to negative mental health outcomes – especially amongst young users. For example, we have young people, who are frequent users of TikTok, suffering from Body Dysmorphic Behaviour, a mental health condition, where, especially young people, spend a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance. Social media offers young people the chance to alter their online appearance, removing flaws and enhancing their image to represent what they believe to be the perfect look, as seen by others who aspire to the same perfection. Reality becomes blurred to the point that distinguishing reality from altered reality is difficult if not impossible. This drive for perfection has increased the incidence of depression and anxiety in teenagers. Between 2011 and 2012, the increase in teenagers cutting and harming themselves is 62 per cent in girls, 186 per cent in pre-teen girls, 70 per cent in 15–19 year old girls and 151 per cent in 10–14 year old girls.
The film exposed the cynical manipulation of users whom advertisers target for profits, while the tech companies profit from the advertisers. Further, the documentary revealed how extreme viewpoints are amplified by the medium and have contributed to societal divisiveness.
Capitalism shapes culture in ways that we don’t fully understand. ‘The Social Dilemma’ explores the concept of surveillance capitalism, a political economics concept signifying the collection and commodification of personal data by corporations. The big tech firms are getting paid for selling users’ personal data to advertisers who pay for us to buy their products. Social media platforms get peoples’ attention and users give their personal details to them. The platforms provide myriad free services, but they are not really free because we are the product. If you are not paying for the product, you are the product. Our own behaviour is the product, changing what we do, what we think and who we are. These social media ‘services’ are killing our young people. There is little protection for them on social media.
Advertisers want to be as successful as possible – they are trading in human futures markets. They produce trillions of dollars making internet companies the richest in history. Every action a user takes is monitored and recorded, right down to how long they look at something. Advertisers know our browsing behaviour and our personality and have more information about us than ever before in human history. Our data is fed into the system and used to build ever more accurate models to predict our behaviour. Manipulation and deceit is at the centre of tech company success. They want us to keep refreshing and we are immediately reinforced for doing so. This intermittent reinforcement encourages our addiction. We are being programmed at a deeper level. The ‘Head of Growth’ at Facebook pioneered the use of tiny scientific experiments. Users are experimental objects – the lab rats of Facebook – in the search for new ways to create profit..
As humans we have lost control. The tech companies control us more than we control them. Over time as users of social media we may get a false sense that everyone agrees with us because others with the same interests are pushed our way – we are all getting the same content, because we have all looked up the same things.So, if you go down a ‘Rabbit Hole’ of conspiracy theory, you will be sent more of that same content with the risk that you become a conspiracy theory addict. The documentary teaches that fake news spreads six times faster than the truth. Biases towards false information therefore make companies more money, and ultimately consumers don’t know what is true any more.
Take that factor into the political realm and target democracies, for example. We can quickly ascertain how tech companies could attempt to erode the fabric of society. Elections can be manipulated through Facebook, Google and Twitter. Democracy could be sold to the highest bidder in a process akin to remote controlled warfare.
The big tech companies are using psychology against users of social media and exploiting vulnerabilities. Social media is a drug – its addiction lies in the way it optimises connection with people . Even when users understand what is being done to them, it is hard to stop checking and engaging. Willpower does not work against it. The more users engage the greater usage increases. Users bring friends along and the algorithms dial up precisely the content they want to see.
Social media users are exploited for financial gain, and social media is dangerously reprogramming users brains and human civilisation. The ethical concerns of how this technology affects privacy, democracy and social cohesion are all laid bare in the film which features Larry Page, co-founder, with Sergey Brin, of Google. ‘Everyone in 2006 had admiration for Google. It was a useful service doing good – then it built this money machine.’ He went on to say that he and co-founder Sergey Brin stepped away from Google when their vision for a research-driven engineer-led company clashed with the profit-oriented approach of shareholders.
Powerfully, the documentary introduces the viewer to the real-life consequences of extreme social media use – the effects on mental health and wellbeing and on relationships. It exposes the hidden structures behind the social media platforms, such as the mechanics of algorithms, and it challenges the viewer to critically explore their own online communications s and how society is affected by their digital choices. It shows the importance of teaching young people how to approach social media with a critical lens so they can sift information from the disinformation, distinguish reality from unreality, behave ethically online and avoid becoming addicted.
Our social media lives have far-reaching consequences and our digital world is becoming increasingly interconnected. We do not often stop to consider the ethical and societal implications of our social media engagements. This documentary insists we do and that we take the time to have these discussions with the young people in our lives.