Isn’t the networks’ dilemma society itself?

The documentary “The Network Dilemma” released by Netflix last week seems to have had an effect. It has generated debate and reflection.

For those who don't know what this is about, I suggest the article published by Wagner Brenner here at UoD. He approached the documentary proposal very well. This time I don't want to do a review or criticism here, but rather explore some aspects and propose other reflections.

It will hardly achieve the success of Black Mirror, but its value is similar: it will be the subject of a lot of chat around and will help the masses to develop a critical look at the structure of social networks.

This critical look is urgent. Networks were built to capture our attention and end up amplifying problems like polarization and misinformation. We need to be critically aware of these issues to stop being mere employees of technological devices, as philosopher Vilém Flusser said in the 80s.

It seems to me that this is the moment we are living in, little by little leaving that initial fascination, in which social networks were consumed without restraint, without filter and with a lot of naivety, precisely because we don't fully know it. We still have a long way to go until we reach maturity.

In a chat with Paulo Cuenca, he recalled how curious it is to think that Netflix constantly monitors its users to understand their behaviors and tastes, and uses this information to produce new content. And it was from this process that “The Networks Dilemma” emerged, that is, to meet the desires of an audience that has already lost that initial fascination and is now experiencing a phase of taste for dystopia. It's chic to criticize.

Another interesting point that the documentary highlights is that major social media critics are former employees, that is, the social platform tech market itself is producing its critics. I think it is beneficial as they will be able to influence their peers, see the “Center for Humane Technology”, founded by one of the characters in the documentary, Tristan Harris (former Googler), who fights for the ethical responsibility of platforms and has already managed to have a positive impact, indirectly responsible for implementing the device and app usage time control feature.  

As the people at Youpix well remembered, they also try to raise awareness among the population, offering, for example, the project “Take Control” which gives simple tips on how to avoid internet addiction.

In my opinion, “The Network Dilemma” directs our attention exclusively to social networks, but if we really want to save ourselves from the anguish and addiction caused by networks, I think it is important to understand that this is a complex problem in which social networks are just one of the elements. There is another crucial factor, which is society itself.

In recent decades we have experienced a long and gradual process of social transformation that is not always perceived. As another famous philosopher, Zygmunt Bauman, said, entities that were previously solid were diluted, that is, they were fragmented into infinities of relative possibilities. In this scenario, the references that existed are lost and the individual then finds themselves alone in the world, having to make choices from an infinite number of possibilities. This is an extremely distressing process. And according to different theorists, the main reason for the high rates of depression.

The way our society found to organize itself in this new world was by making decisions based on validating its choices with other individuals like it. This is where social networks come in as an important element: they connect people who feel by nature, the impulse to share their ideas and opinions in order to validate them. So, it seems to me that the dilemma of networks is the society that created it.

Our anguish will not be resolved only with the restructuring of social platforms, but from the moment we gain critical awareness about this complex process, thus being able to take control of our impulses, to determine with greater clarity the objective we intend to achieve. , every time we access the network.

To close, I leave a suggestion that is mentioned in the documentary: try disabling notifications on your cell phone. You will soon notice that you have more control over the number of times you pick up your cell phone. It's a good start.