Thread by @JenShahade

Watched the #socialdilemma. found it overly negative, ageist and outrageously lacking in nuance, diversity or solutions, ironically succumbing to its own point of sensationalism and attention metrics over substance.

Some examples in thread:

Shows correlation of mental health issues and social media but not causation. interviews no teens, instead uses weak ass dramatization of a teen who gets depressed after a mean comment. Teens are smarter on social media than this film shows, would ❤️ to hear from them

Much of the film centers on Silicon Valley insiders, who now want to help “solve” the problem. A couple explain how they don’t let their kids use social media (but don’t mention their own resources to achieve that.)

Where is the discussion of class and privilege of opting out.

Very little diversity in the film. Relatedly, no discussion of how social media helps people who’d probably never get through gatekeepers find a voice. (Getting through gatekeepers doesnt seem like a huge issue for most of the tech bros in the film.)

It’s weak on solutions or ideas for progress, leaving us with a few tiny nuggets at the end of the film like “turn off notifications” and “don’t watch recommended YT videos” or “set a limit with your kids.”

It embodies the alarmism and cheap attention grab it critiques.

Finally, it’s kinda cruel and annoying to release a film like this now, where many people use social media as a way to connect in a very difficult time. Thought experiment; do away with social media right now. How lonely a winter it would be for many of us.

(major) Redeeming feature: may make your life better if you haven’t read or watched much criticism of social media before.

Related suggestion! Jenny Odell’s How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy. It blew me away with its expansive critique on constant optimization, and dives deep into “what to pay attention to” not just “what not to.” Read it and let me know what you think. ❤️