Murray, NEB.–The new talk of the town is Netflix’s part-drama, part-documentary, “The Social Dilemma”. Right off the bat, I’m gonna say that it honestly gave me chills. Even after watching the show, some people will still claim that none of it is real, that it’s all just a hoax. This will open your eyes and show you the truth. The Social Dilemma is real. It’s all true. This is a movie you definitely have to watch, because not only is it informational, it’s life changing.

Tristan Harris, the star and the co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, starts off with the first set of facts that actually might surprise you. When you go to Google, and you look something up, you might expect to see suggestions that are the most looked at, or searched. But, you’d be incorrect. Google will show suggestions based off of what you’ve searched before, and where you live. If you think that climate change is a hoax, and it’s fake, that’s what Google will show you when you look up “Climate Change Is…..”. But, if you think it’s real, and it’s a serious problem, Google will show you that instead. That’s not by accident, it’s a technique.

Google is NOT just a search engine. It’s basically a tracker for everything you’ve ever looked up, everything you need to know. The Social Dilemma will give you a new look on what happens on your phone, and what truly happens. You’ll learn that not all of Google’s findings are ones that are true, some will just show you what you want to think. It tells you how, and why, so you know what to look for.

A team of engineers are using our psychology against us. In everything you do, something from that action gets recorded and used later. Social Media and the internet in general has done loads of good for people. It’s given us a way to grow, to sell online, to communicate with people we can’t see in person anymore. The issue was no one was paying attention to the flip side of the coin. From the mouth of former senior Vice-President of Twitter, Alex Roetter, “I always felt like, fundamentally, it was a force for good. I don’t know if I feel that way anymore.”

Another ideal for you to consider, is that nothing is ever free. Any given item may be good, it may be bad, but nothing in life is ever truly “free.” This is something that people don’t understand. Google isn’t free, neither is Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, or TikTok. The app may be free for you to get, but it still comes with some kind of a cost. The second you open that app, someone or something is tracking everything you look at, and how long you look at a particular post or ad. The longer you look at one, the more likely you are to see it again. It’s an algorithm that these social media companies use to make you spend more time on their app. The more time you spend on it, the more ads you’ll see, the more likes you’ll leave, and the more money they make.

Just to recap, this is something everyone needs to see, and understand. Sometimes in life, we’re taken by surprise, by things we should’ve known. If you’ve read this, now you’re aware. Whether or not you believe it, is up to you. Social media has changed lives, and not for the better, people need to be aware of the dangers.