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Watching the founders of the world’s largest social media platforms describe how bad they are for young people’s mental health, 15-year-old Neisha Biviano had to pause to give herself time to take it all in.
Almost instantly, the spectacular Netflix documentary, The social dilemma, changed his relationship with the platforms his generation grew up on.
“I had to pause it a couple of times to really take in the information that I had never heard before, especially from these CEOs and corporations who run all these applications.
“I was scared to think about what they are telling me right now: these apps are on my phone and I use them every day,” said the sophomore.
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“It makes you want to stop and throw your phone away, it’s so revealing.”
The documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, but it hit Netflix this month and is trending online and among parents who have long been concerned about the impact social media has on self-esteem. the children.
In it, many of the co-creators of global platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest and others reveal that they are so concerned about the harms of social media that they severely prohibit or restrict the use of their children.
PAUL JEFFERS / Sydney Morning Herald
Neisha Biviano and Mia Quinn, 15, changed their attitudes towards social media after watching the documentary The Social Dilemma, which Mia also showed her family to see.
New York University social psychologist and professor Jonathan Haidt observes a “gigantic increase” in depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide among preteen and adolescent children, Gen Z, who have been on social media since elementary school.
He says the number of teens admitted to the hospital for self-harm, including cutting, was stable until around 2011-13, but in the U.S. it has risen 62 percent for those ages 15 to 19 and a 189 percent for preteens. ; “that’s horrible”.
“We have seen the same pattern with suicide,” he said. In older adolescents it is 70 percent compared to the first decade of this century and “in pre-adolescent girls, who had very low rates [previously] it’s up 151 percent and that pattern points to social media. “
Watching the documentary, Catherine Manning, who runs self-esteem workshops for young people, said that the revelations about the methods used by social media platforms to enter people’s minds and the statistics on the resulting self-harm left her “in tears” .
“I was thinking about how kidnapped our children have been and how much [social media] It is already causing them so much pain and anxiety. But at the same time, it’s a great tool for our socialization, “said Manning, executive director of SEED workshops.
“The statistics presented on the rise in self-harm and suicide among young people certainly correlate with those surrounding the rise in things like body dysmorphia. [a mental health condition in which physical defects are imagined] across the board, “he said.
“The most important thing for children to identify is that something that matters so much to them doesn’t matter more to them than income … there’s nothing new about this, but it makes it much more personal.”
JASON SOUTH / Sydney Morning Herald
Catherine Manning, a self-esteem educator, was “in tears” when she saw the Netflix documentary in which the creators of social networks describe the harm it causes to young people. His daughter, Lucinda, has changed her ideas about platforms after seeing him.
Teens like Neisha Biviano, her friend Mia Quinn, also 15, and Manning’s daughter Lucinda, 18, say the revelations from the documentary have been so shocking that they will influence their real-world relationships with social media.
Mia Quinn, an aspiring visual artist and photographer, said that despite valuable platforms like Instagram’s offering, especially showcasing the art of other young people, after viewing The social dilemma He immediately told his circle of friends that he wanted to remove the app.
“I had just looked The social dilemma and said [to my friends] Guys let’s remove Insta and Snapchat, I said ‘Insta is not working for me, I don’t want to be here anymore, this is not right’.
“On the other hand, I don’t want to leave it and move to a different platform without my friends [who did not want to abandon it entirely]. “
He stopped following large numbers of people, including all “influencers,” and was left with only those who offered creativity.
She said this “confused the algorithm” on Instagram, which guesses what individual users might like and selects custom streams and targeted ads, and “now it just shows me new people to follow who are mostly art students, and that. it’s really nice”.
“I think the best thing you can do is buy books, stop following the influencers who get their money from social networks, bring more harm than good to everyone, turn off your notifications … and follow more of your hobbies and interests than people. “
Biviano says that despite the instinct to tune out, the fact that so many positive things come to her world through social media means it’s worth continuing. “You have two possibilities: there is a really amazing virtual place that is full of acceptance and can be a charming and inspiring creative outlet.
“But the other is this breeding ground full of self-destructive energy and hatred and this growing number of political and polarizing opinions that are being launched, and also an increasing number of negative, really toxic and unattainable standards that have been created.”
JANIE BARRETT / Sydney Morning Herald
Julie Inman Gant, Commissioner of eSafety, has “lived” the social dilemma and believes that the will of giant platforms to lead the creation of a safe social media culture does not exist.
National eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has insider experience in corporate tech culture and says the will to create a safe environment does not exist.
“I worked in the tech industry for over 20 years and really lived the Social Dilemma,” he said, “I tried to serve as an ‘antagonist of constructive safety’ within the industry, but it only took me so far because the company will and leadership were not there. “
The film particularly illustrates the influence of social media on children who have not yet developed enough critical-thinking skills to stay safe online and combat fake news, he said.
“If the tech giants are building digital highways, they must also install virtual seat belts and stop signs and monitor these roads to keep users safe.”
Given that Facebook has 2.5 billion users and YouTube 1.5 billion, and algorithms create and recommend content, “the terrifying reality is that [users] they could spend this critical first part of their lives just listening to one point of view. “
Dr Lauren Rosewarne, a senior lecturer in social sciences at the University of Melbourne, has written two books on social media and says that revelations about the activities of big tech companies impact users, but generally do not cause widespread change in the behavior of users.
The impression given on The social dilemma that the developers were “babies in the woods” who had no idea that the features they created could become harmful or addictive were “ridiculous”, but members of the generation that did not know life before social networks are equipped with more media savvy than their older peers.
“What we have to do culturally is think about how we become smarter users and how we control the technology we use instead of letting it control us,” he said.
Lucinda Manning, 18, said that while parents may believe that kids don’t question the dark arts of competing social media platforms in what the film calls the “attention-grabbing” industry, they do and they will be even more selective now.
“I think my generation is becoming very aware of the impact that social media has on them. I think a lot of parents think that young people don’t care and don’t pay attention, but the reality is that we are and we really do care.
“Many people my age are changing the way they use their devices, including friends of mine who have removed apps like Facebook and Instagram, as they are well aware of the negative impacts it has on their mental health.
“The documentary definitely encouraged me to think more about the amount of time and effort I put into social media and I think that just watching the documentary is a step towards change.”
