The Social Dilemma
A documentary about the impact of social media. A critical look at algorithms and their influence on society.
What you get out of it
Understand the critical impact of social media on society
If it's free, you're not the product: you're the mine.
Why I recommend it
Former Facebook, Google and Twitter employees explain on camera what they built, and why they don't want it for their own kids. The format is a bit theatrical, and the fictional scenes in between have aged. The substance still holds.
It is the best entry point I know into the attention economy: you come out with the vocabulary (engagement, extraction, polarization) and a strong urge to go through your notification settings again. When you want to dig deeper, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism takes over in depth.
Still true. Released in 2020. In 2023, the US Surgeon General issued an official advisory warning about the effects of social media on young people's mental health.
