The Social Media Revolution: Is It Really Different this Time?

Social media on mobile devices “is a totally new species of power and influence…the methods used to play on people’s ability to be addicted or to be influenced are probably different this time,” says Tristan Harris, social media activist and co-founder at the Center for Humane Technology in the recent Netflix documentary, “Social Dilemma.”

Referring to social media addiction and related side-effects, Harris continues:

“There’s this narrative that, you know, we’ll just adapt to it, we’ll learn how to live with these devices, just like we’ve learned how to live with everything else. And what this misses, is there’s something distinctly new here.”

Harris strikes a chord. “Social Dilemma” one of was Netflix’s top Fall movies for 2020 and it’s easy to see why. The concern over social media causing mayhem in the period leading up to the presidential elections was a hot topic and, with the recent announcements of government action against Facebook and Google, it continues to dominate the current news cycle.

A Wall Street Journal review of the movie says “The most urgent question posed by “The Social Dilemma” is whether democracy can survive the social networks’ blurring of fact and fiction. It draws attention to Harris’ question about the impact of social media…