The Social Dilemma

The Social Dilemma is a 2020 American docudrama film directed by Jeff Orlowski and written by Orlowski, Davis Coombe, and Vickie Curtis. The documentary examines how social media's design nurtures an addiction, manipulates people's views, emotions, and behavior, and spreads conspiracy theories and disinformation, to maximize profit. The film also examines the issue of social media's effect on mental health (including the mental health of adolescents and rising teen suicide rates).

The Social Dilemma
Promotional poster
Directed byJeff Orlowski
Written by
Produced byLarissa Rhodes
Starring
Cinematography
  • John Behrens
  • Jonathan Pope
Edited byDavis Coombe
Music byMark A. Crawford
Production
companies
  • Exposure Labs
  • Argent Pictures
  • The Space Program
Distributed byNetflix
Release dates
  • January 26, 2020 (2020-01-26) (Sundance)
  • September 9, 2020 (2020-09-09) (United States)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film features interviews with many former employees, executives, and other professionals from top tech companies and social media platforms such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Mozilla. These interviewees draw on their primary experiences at their companies to discuss how such platforms have caused negative problematic social, political, and cultural consequences. Some of the interviewees qualify that social media platforms and big tech companies have provided some positive change for society as well. The interviewees discuss social media's role in political polarization in the United States and the influence that algorithmic advertising has had on political radicalization. The film also examines how social media platforms have impacted the spreading of fake news in recent years. These interviews are presented alongside scripted dramatizations of a teenager's social media addiction. These dramatizations draw attention to the raising concern of the radicalization of youth on the internet.

The Social Dilemma premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2020, and was released on Netflix on September 9, 2020.[1] The documentary went on to be viewed in 38,000,000 homes within the first 28 days of release.[2] It won two awards out of seven nominations at the 73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2021.[3]

Synopsis

The film dives into the psychological underpinings and the manipulation techniques by which, it claims, social media companies addict users. The interviewees state that this often leads to increased depression and increased suicide rates among teens and young adults.[4]

Orlowski uses a cast of actors to portray this in the dramatization. Ben, a teenager (played by Skyler Gisondo), slowly falls for these manipulation tactics and dives deeper into a social media addiction.

The dangers of artificial intelligence and fake news are touched on. Tristan Harris argues that this is a "disinformation-for-profit business model" and that companies make more money by allowing "unregulated messages to reach anyone for the best price". Wikipedia is mentioned as a neutral landscape that shows all users the exact same information without tailoring or monetizing it.

The interviewees restate their fear about artificial intelligence's role in social media and the influence these platforms have on society, arguing that "something needs to change."

Cast

Interviewees

Actors

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 85% based on 66 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Clear-eyed and comprehensive, The Social Dilemma presents a sobering analysis of our data-mined present."[20] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on nine critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[21]

The New York Times wrote that the documentary warns consumers about the hidden dangers of social media and the degree social networks collect personal data and use it to control and influence people's lives and decisions, and that the film features "conscientious defectors from companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram [who] explain that the perniciousness of social networking platforms is a feature, not a bug".[22] ABC News's Mark Kennedy called the film "an eye-opening look into the way social media is designed to create addiction and manipulate our behavior, told by some of the very people who supervised the systems at places like Facebook, Google, and Twitter" and said it will "[make you] immediately want to toss your smartphone into the garbage can ... and then toss the garbage can through the window of a Facebook executive".[23]

Nell Minow of RogerEbert.com offered a more mixed review, giving the film three stars out of four. She noted that the film "asks fundamental and existential questions" of humanity's potential self-destruction through its own use of computer technology, and praised its "exceptional" use of confessions from leaders and key players in the social media industry, but criticized the "poorly-conceived dramatic re-enactment of some of the perils of social media." She stated that "even the wonderfully talented Skyler Gisondo cannot make a sequence work where he plays a teenager seduced by extremist disinformation, and the scenes with Vincent Kartheiser embodying the formulas that fight our efforts to pay attention to anything outside of the online world are just silly."[24]

The film was also criticized for being simplistic, for its unhelpful or unnecessary dramatizations, and for failing to include many longstanding and diverse critics of social media. Adi Robertson of The Verge noted the film offered a "familiar and simplistic assessment of how the internet has changed our lives."[25] Casey Newton of The Verge argued that the film "is ridiculous[.] The dramatized segments include a fictional trio of sociopaths working inside an unnamed social network to design bespoke push notifications to distract their users. They show an anguished family struggling to get the children to put their phones away during dinner. And the ominous piano score that pervades every scene, rather than ratcheting up the tension, gives it all the feeling of camp."[26]

Pranav Malhotra of Slate stated that the film "plays up well-worn dystopian narratives surrounding technology," and "depend[s] on tired (and not helpful) tropes about technology as the sole cause of harm, especially to children." He also criticized the film for failing to acknowledge activists and commentators who have long-criticized social media, saying that "it could have also given space to critical internet and media scholars like Safiya Noble, Sarah T. Roberts, and Siva Vaidhyanathan, just to name a few, who continue to write about how broader structural inequalities are reflected in and often amplified by the practices of big technology companies."[27]

Industry response

Facebook released a statement on its about page that the film “gives a distorted view of how social media platforms work to create a convenient scapegoat for what are difficult and complex societal problems".[28]

Mozilla employees Ashley Boyd and Audrey Hingle note that while the "making, release and popularity of The Social Dilemma represents a major milestone towards [the goal of] building a movement of internet users who understand social media’s impact and who demand better from platforms", the film would have benefited from featuring more diverse voices.[29]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
ACE Eddie Awards April 17, 2021 Best Edited Documentary (Feature) Davis Coombe Nominated [30]
ASCAP Screen Music Awards May 17, 2021 TV Documentary Score of the Year Mark A. Crawford Nominated [31]
British Academy Film Awards April 11, 2021 Best Documentary Jeff Orlowski and Larissa Rhodes Nominated [32]
BFE Cut Above Awards March 5, 2021 Best Edited Single Documentary or Non-Fiction Programme Davis Coombe Won [33]
Boulder International Film Festival March 8, 2020 Best Social Impact Film The Social Dilemma Won [34][35]
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards December 21, 2020 Best Documentary The Social Dilemma Nominated [36]
Cinema Audio Society Awards April 17, 2021 Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Motion Picture – Documentary Mark A. Crawford, Scott R. Lewis, Mark Venezia, and Jason Butler Nominated [37]
Cinema Eye Honors Awards March 9, 2021 Audience Choice Prize The Social Dilemma Nominated [38]
Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or Animation Simon Barker, Matthew Poliquin, Matt Schultz, and Shawna Schultz Nominated
Critics' Choice Documentary Awards November 16, 2020 Best Documentary Feature The Social Dilemma Nominated [39]
Best Political Documentary The Social Dilemma Nominated
Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Awards April 16, 2021 Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Feature Documentary Richard Gould, James Spencer, and Andrea Gard Nominated [40]
Primetime Emmy Awards September 12, 2021 Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special Larissa Rhodes, Daniel Wright, and Stacey Piculell Nominated [3]
Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program Jeff Orlowski Nominated
Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program Vickie Curtis, Davis Coombe, and Jeff Orlowski Won
Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program John Behrens and Jonathan Pope Nominated
Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special (Original Dramatic Score) Mark A. Crawford Nominated
Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program Davis Coombe Won
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera) Richard Gould, James Spencer, and Andrea Gard Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards January 11, 2021 Best Documentary The Social Dilemma Runner-up [41]
St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards January 18, 2021 Best Documentary Film The Social Dilemma Nominated [42]
Webby Awards May 18, 2021 Advertising, Media & PR – Branded Content – Politics & Advocacy Exposure Labs Won [43]

See also

References

  1. Ehrlich, David (January 29, 2020). "'The Social Dilemma' Review: A Horrifyingly Good Doc About How Social Media Will Kill Us All". IndieWire. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  2. "Every Viewing Statistic Netflix Has Released So Far". What's on Netflix. February 28, 2021.
  3. "The Social Dilemma". Television Academy. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  4. "Products - Data Briefs - Number 361 - March 2020". www.cdc.gov. April 7, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  5. Orlowski, Jeff (September 9, 2020), The Social Dilemma (Documentary, Drama), Tristan Harris, Jeff Seibert, Bailey Richardson, Joe Toscano, Exposure Labs, Argent Pictures, The Space Program, retrieved October 28, 2020
  6. "Center for Humane Technology: Most Innovative Company". Fast Company. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  7. "About". Tristan Harris. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  8. "About us". inthemoment.io. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  9. "Book excerpt: Jaron Lanier's 'Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now'". ABC News. June 19, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  10. "Roger McNamee: "It's bigger than Facebook. This is a problem with the entire industry" - The Guardian". TheGuardian.com. February 16, 2019.
  11. "30 Under 30: Aza Raskin, Massive HealthInc.com". July 2, 2012.
  12. "Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz unveils new company, Asana". LA Times Blogs - Technology. November 2, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  13. "Shoshana Zuboff - SHOSANA ZUBOFF".
  14. "Jeff Seibert - Medium".
  15. Lembke, Anna (August 25, 2021). "In 'Dopamine Nation,' Overabundance Keeps Us Craving More". NPR.org. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  16. "The Frontline Interview: Sandy Parakilas". FRONTLINE. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  17. "Weapons of Math Destruction". weaponsofmathdestructionbook.com. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  18. "Quitting Instagram: She's one of the millions disillusioned with social media. But she also helped create it". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  19. "YouTube: Candidates favored by the algorithm". algotransparency.org. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  20. "The Social Dilemma (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  21. "The Social Dilemma Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  22. Girish, Devika (September 9, 2020). "'The Social Dilemma' Review: Unplug and Run". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  23. Kennedy, Mark (September 8, 2020). "Review: Put down that phone, urges doc 'The Social Dilemma'". ABC News. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  24. Minow, Neil: "Reviews: The Social Dilemma," September 8, 2020, RogerEbert.com, retrieved February 28, 2021
  25. Robertson, Adi (September 4, 2020). "Telling people to delete Facebook won't fix the internet". The Verge. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  26. Newton, Casey (September 16, 2020). "What 'The Social Dilemma' misunderstands about social networks". The Verge. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  27. Malhotra, Pranav (December 8, 2020). "The Social Dilemma Fails to Tackle the Real Issues in Tech". Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  28. "What 'The Social Dilemma' Gets Wrong" (PDF). fb.com. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  29. Boyd, Ashley; Hingle, Audrey (September 30, 2020). "You watched 'The Social Dilemma.' Read these 11 books next". Fast Company. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  30. Giardina, Carolyn (March 11, 2021). "Minari, Trial of the Chicago 7 Among American Cinema Editors' Eddie Awards Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  31. "2021 ASCAP Screen Music Awards". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. May 17, 2021. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  32. "2021 EE British Academy Film Awards: The Winners". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  33. "The BFE Cut Above Awards". British Film Editors. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  34. "2020 Awards". Boulder International Film Festival. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  35. "Boulder International Film Festival 2020 Program" (PDF). Boulder International Film Festival. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  36. "Chloé Zhao's Nomadland Leads Chicago Film Critics Association 2020 Award Nominations". Chicago Film Critics Association. December 18, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  37. Pederson, Erik (March 2, 2021). "CAS Awards Nominations: Trial Of The Chicago 7, Sound Of Metal & Mank Among Pics Vying For Sound Mixing Trophies". Deadline. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  38. "Cinema Eye Unveils Full Slate of Nominees for 14th Annual Nonfiction Honors". Cinema Eye Honors. December 10, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  39. Thompson, Anne (October 26, 2020). "Crip Camp, Gunda, and Mr. Soul! Lead Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations". IndieWire. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  40. Pedersen, Erik (March 1, 2021). "Sound Editors Nominate Wonder Woman, Sound Of Metal, Tenet & Others For Golden Reel Awards – Full List". Deadline. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  41. "2020 San Diego Film Critics Society Award Winners". San Diego Film Critics Society. January 11, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  42. "2020 StLFCA Annual Award Winners". St. Louis Film Critics Association. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
  43. "Winners Announced for the 25th Annual Webby Awards". Webby Awards. May 18, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2022.
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