This year Netflix released a documentary called The Social Dilemma. The Social Dilemma features interviews with former employees of social media companies and focuses on how social media truly affects the human mind, society, and teenager behavior while detailing how social media generally works. One of my favorite quotes from the documentary is “Social media starts to dig deeper and deeper down into the brain stem and takes over kids’ sense of self- worth and identity,” which is one of The Social Dilemma’s strongest themes.

As a teenager who grew up with little to no social media, I watched kids get manipulated as social media ate away their confidence, self worth, identity, and ultimately destroyed their mental health. Studies featured in The Social Dilemma have even proven that in the time since social media has become more popular, older teen girls’ (15-19) suicide rates have gone up a total of 70%. As for younger teen girls (10-14), their suicide rates have been skyrocketing to a total of 151%, I think such a drastic increase is preposterous and horrible because these girls haven’t had any life experiences and they’re ending their lives before they even give them a chance to see some of the beautiful things life has to offer. The fact that the suicide rates have been going up ever since social media started shows how profoundly toxic and ruinous it can be for young minds. When the documentary claimed that social media is a drug, it made me realize how much it really is. 

Social Dilemma explains erratic teenage behavior, such as when teenage social media users overreact when their phones or social media are taken. The documentary explains that teenagers act similarly to victims of drug addiction getting their drugs taken because social media is a form of drug, and its absence can cause teenagers to be moody, rude, and even behave like toddlers and throw a temper tantrum. 

The Social Dilemma has taught me so much about what social media companies do to keep you on their apps for hours on end. It reveals that these companies have created a formula from their collected data such as how long you’re on a certain post, or how long you’re looking at someone’s account to keep you on the app to see how many ads you see so they can collect more ad revenue. Social media tracks every like, every follow, every unfollow, every saved post, every message you’ve sent, and they track everything you do just to make the perfect formula to keep you addicted. In the documentary, former employees describe the formula as “trying to psychologically manipulate you as fast as possible.” 

Another quote from The Social Dilemma that stunned me was “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.” When you think about it, and you look deep into social media, it’s really just a game to them. It seems like a little competition they are having between themselves of who can get the most users, the most likes, shares, and the most profiles. With every profile they get more money and they get more popular for every human they get on the app. 

When The Social Dilemma claims that “We’re the product. Our attention is the product that is being sold to advertisers,” I think it shows why social media really exists; the reason they’re there is because you are the product they are buying and selling. Worse, teenagers get so obsessed with social media, and every time they post they worry so much of what people think or say about them, and if they don’t hit a certain amount of likes they put themselves down for it. This behaviour seems so juvenile to me, and I feel that if teenagers open their eyes and watch documentaries like The Social Dilemma and see how toxic social media is, they would never want to be on it again.