ARE YOU REMOTELY CONTROLLED?
Are you remotely controlled? Of course not! You decide what you read and what you click on. You limit your kids to two hours of internet time after they finish their homework. You’re in control.
Or are you? Maybe there are two sides to the social media dilemma.
TWO SIDES TO THE SOCIAL MEDIA DILEMMA
Do you think companies like Facebook feed all of the right data to you at just the right time? That you’re hooked like a fish?Or are you of the opinion that they are helping us to widen our family circle, to connect with long lost friends and stay in touch?
Maybe it’s both?
Everyone must agree this constant clicking, swiping, and liking HAS impacted our lives.
Companies like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Tik Tok and your favorite search engine all want your attention: they use advanced algorithms to steer our minds, maneuver our thoughts and, in turn, direct our actions.
Enter: Surveillance Capitalism.
SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM
What is surveillance capitalism?
A term coined by Dr. Shoshana Zuboff, social psychologist and Harvard University professor emerita
A market driven process where the commodity for sale is your personal data, and the capture and production of this data relies on mass surveillance of the internet.
More on Dr. Shoshan hereFor the first fifty years of Silicon Valley the industry made products such as hardware and software and sold them to customers. Nice and Simple.
This has changed. Now the biggest companies in Silicon Valley –allegedly– have been in the business of selling their users.
Every user’s ads are personalized. For example, my son’s ads ranged from basketball shoes to jerseys, while mine were completely different.
Data is collected from each individual’s browsing activities. The algorithms, developed by computer scientists in Silicon Valley, create different user profiles. This is intentional data collection.
USERS. That’s an interesting term.
What other activity coins the term ‘users?’
People who use illegal drugs!
SOCIAL MEDIA IS PERSUASIVE TECHNOLOGY
“Social media isn’t a tool that’s just waiting to be used,” says ethicist Tristan Harris. “It has its own goals and it has its own means of pursuing them by using your own psychology against you.”
Algorithms mine your ‘likes.’ Ads and Youtube videos you click on give you more of the same.
Harris continues, “In other words: The tool is alive. It knows you. It’s feeding you information you think you want and need but in reality, is eliciting action and clicks as a way to fuel advertising.”
For example, a major US retail network used customer shopping records to predict pregnancies of its female customers, sending them well-timed ads and well-targeted offers. (For the article, email me)
Are you safe on social media?
Recently, Facebook was under fire for taking insufficient measures to protect data privacy of its users.(there’s that term again…
FACEBOOK PRIVACY SCANDAL
The Facebook Privacy Scandal centered around the collection of personally identifiable information from 87 million people.
And Facebook allegedly sold our data.
COOKIES: WHAT ARE THEY?
Cookies!
Cookies are the data that our computer stores while we’re using it, to remember specific information for your browsing activity. Cookies are advantageous for ease of access to research and surf the web.
Yet, it also is helpful for companies trying to sell you something. Our private information is like gold.
In fact, Tech Republic states that on average, every citizen in the United States had their data stolen four times in 2019.
WHICH ANIMAL ARE YOU?
Have you ever taken one of those quizzes? Sometimes you just have to know which animal you are or which Hogwarts House you belong to. (For the record, I’m in Gryffindor.)
Companies have actually extrapolated and mined data from our responses!
In 2019, The Federal Trade Commision (FCC) sued a political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, accusing them of harvesting personally identifiable information through a personality quiz app. Just adding the app to your Facebook profile gave the company—and others— access to your profile information, as well as access to all your friends.
A study done by UC-Berkeley researchers showed that “easily accessible digital records of behavior, Facebook Likes, can be used to automatically and accurately predict a range of highly sensitive personal attributes including: sexual orientation, ethnicity, religious and political views, personality traits, intelligence, happiness, use of addictive substances, parental separation, age, and gender.”
SOCIAL MEDIA DILEMMA
Surveillance capitalists regard us as a free commodity. We search Google, but now we understand that Google searches us. We were using social media to connect but learned that our connections are how social media uses us. Surveillance capitalism stinks!
We know we’re clicking too much. We know it’s captivating. But what is it doing to us?
These giants are just getting bigger.
Google owns YouTube and Waze, and is in the process of purchasing FitBit for 2.1 billion dollars. Gmail, owned by google is free. How did they get billions of dollars?
Facebook owns the social platforms Instagram and Whatsapp. Facebook is ‘free’ for its users, too. Yet it was able to purchase Instagram in 2012 for 1 billion dollars.
POLARITY and POPULARITY
Our data isn’t just used to sell shoes. Let’s look at political issues.
These algorithms can gather information gleaned from voter rolls, such as political affiliation, and reach out to the people they choose. They can narrow their target audience to those who have shown interest in guns, abortion, or immigration, based on what the user has read or talked about on social media sites, who they follow or what they’ve tweeted or posted about.
The algorithms then show one ad to young women interested in both school choice and climate change, and a different ad to everyone else.
Psychologically, when we read something we agree with, we stay online longer. This gives advertisers more time to sell us the items we clicked on or ‘liked.’
But what this also does is increase polarity. Again and again, we see the same opinions come at us. We eventually wonder how anyone could think otherwise because there is no other way to think.
What about ‘likes?’ Or those heart icons on Instagram? Retweets? Follows?
Not getting enough of them, or comparing oneself to a friend can have a devastating effect on self-esteem.
Ethicist Tristan Harris notes that we were not really meant to receive feedback on what we do and say every five minutes.
Comparison is the thief of joy and these sites almost force it on us.
Flip the coin again. Getting ‘likes’ is giving us a hit of dopamine via positive intermittent reinforcement. Which means that we’ll be back for more.
DOPAMINE
This is a science blog, so I must give you a quick summary about dopamine.
VALUE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
There is great value in using these apps. Connecting with family out of state, and friends out of the country. Posting articles or new blog posts (hand raising!)
How can we fight back? Protect our kids from surveillance capitalism? Protect ourselves from social media’s influence?
TAKE CONTROL OF TECHNOLOGY
If we make more conscious choices, we can take control.
Don’t just default, rewire your experience.
Cal Newport, a professor of computer science at Georgetown University is highly critical of social media abuses. He has suggested that we should use the apps more like professional schedulers and marketing people. Which means using them in a predetermined way with set parameters.
-Avoid being lured into apps that profit from your attention. Reclaim your time by going on when YOU choose, not when a red dot tells you to.
-Go to Settings > Notifications, or swipe left on any incoming notification and hit Manage > Turn Off
-Device-free Dinners
-Create a shared charging station, so your kids aren’t charging their phones in their bedrooms overnight.
-Buy an alarm clock. Don’t get sucked into your phone first thing in the morning!
-Get a Website blocker like Self Control, Pause, or StayFocused.
It will decrease distraction and increase your productivity and focus because you won’t be tempted to check your Facebook feed, or see what’s on sale at Nordstrom
-Clear your browser cache each time you close it out!
Go to settings>clear browsing data
-Use apps like Headspace or Waking Up to decompress. (I love Waking Up!)
Social media serves us content we already agree with to keep us online longer. This erodes our ability to engage with people online who don’t share our views.
To solve problems from poverty to racism to climate change, we have to come together. That means exposing ourselves to different perspectives.
BE COMPASSIONATE
Social media profits from hate and anger because strong emotions generate more engagement.
Remember there is a real person behind the screen. Don’t be so quick to unfollow or publicly argue with someone who posts something you disagree with.
Take care with your comments. You could inadvertently hurt others.
TAKE A BREAK FROM SOCIAL MEDIA
Get outside and look at the view.
Train your dog to do something important.
Make dinner….or just skip to dessert!
The social media dilemma isn’t going away any time soon. With conscious effort, we can stop being remotely controlled!
And I can try to match my photo sizes!
DON'T MISS OUT ON THE COOL SCIENCE!
It will be interesting to see whether or not Facebook and Twitter allow me to post this article… (Facebook said that my article about soap had controversial content and refused to let me post it. Soap?)
What’s your prediction?
I absolutely agree the points you have made here. A great thought-provoking post.
Thank you! I’m glad to hear that you agree.
Great post! I definitely agree that it’s important to step back from social media or take a break every so often. Helps put things into perspective for sure!
Anika | chaptersofmay.com
Breaks are key, I agree. Thank you!
Thanks for a very thought-provoking post. As users, I think we all need to be very aware and vigilant of the data we provide, and understand the trade-offs we make for convenience. It’s a little scary.
It’s difficult not to take advantage of all that’s at our fingertips! Yes, vigilance is key. Thank you so much.
This is a pretty interesting topic. I am at the point where I expect zero privacy, even when I go out and don’t use the technology myself. There is always data collected about you, such as your credit card usage. I think we need to not let social media affect our behavior. People don’t show their full selves on social media (which is OK), but can lead others to think they live a certain perfect lifestyle.
Nancy ✨ exquisitely.me
That’s a great attitude, to not let social media affect you! I agree that it’s OK to only show the positive, as long as others realize that! I think it’s much harder for adolescents and teens to shrug it all off. Thanks!
It would be nice to have more control over our private data and cookies, but often you have the two choices, accept them or not use the website or app. But what can you really do about it?
It is tricky with websites! If you’re just skimming one page, you can usually get away with ignoring their announcement.You can clear your browser cache after your session, which gets rid of many of them. Apps are tougher, without question. I need to look into this further!
Some awesome points here. I don’t do social media “personally,” just for my blog and even that I fought for the first 2 years! I still try and take frequent breaks. Speaking of, I love your dog! Your video made me smile 💚
Great that you can keep yourself separated from social media. I’ll tell Louie you liked his trick! (ha) Thanks.
It’s really important to take a step back and recognize the impact that social media has in our lives. One of the great choices that I made was to install the ‘Kill News Feed’ Chrome extension. That way, when I visit Facebook, I have to choose to visit a person’s profile, group or page. I’m not just getting whatever their algorithm says to put in front of me in the newsfeed. When I go to someone’s page, it’s normal, but my newsfeed is blank.
I wanted to suggest a news feed killer but wasn’t completely smitten with the ones I looked at. Thanks so much for mentioning this! I’ll check it out and maybe add it to the post!
I have loved all your posts, but this one is over and beyond good. It should be a book. Everybody should read it. Great research about social media, collected in one easy palatable fun-to-read format. Excellent post. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Eva! I had many more points to make but didn’t want to turn this into too long a read, as I tend to do!
You’ve provided a lot to think about. Social media is a dilemma for sure. I try to stick to business and blog promotion only. And beware of personal information and data mining. Take a break fro time to time and don’t let it dictate any part of your life. Thanks for sharing,
Sounds as if you’ve got this under control! Kudos! And thanks.
Awesome read! I definitely make a point to pull myself away from social media at times. Some of this social media stuff is pretty unsettling.
I agree and am glad you’re taking care of yourself. I tend to get a little rattled so I take entire weeks off, to decompress. Thanks, Alexis!
This is such an interesting post. I am also an Instagram influencer so I am very aware of how easy it is to “swipe up” to buy something, and then see ads all over other social channels from that same company. It is kinda eerie in a way that technology seems to track your every move!
An influencer! Congrats to you. The fact that the same media moguls own several social channels is unsettling, all right! Thanks.
At the end of the day, I think what we all need to do is be aware of what social media and takes away. As long as we use it responsibility, we are coming out ahead, even in a small way.
Well put! I agree. Social media has a lot of positives if we manage to keep ourselves out of the weeds. Thank you.
Well said, Sue. We need a balance between social media and the rest of life. I’m all for getting outside and enjoying nature.
I love getting outside, too! Did that moth ever emerge from the cocoon? I recall you mentioned it on my monarch post.
This was a really interesting read – in terms of technology I feel like it is in some ways remotely controlling us with regards to social media being the first thing we click on in the morning to scroll through like the morning paper. And data collection of our browsing time then coming back to us in the form of advertisement on social media platforms.
Personally – this is why I am more intentional on what I choose to post online whether that be for my blog or social media because I know that that data will be mined in some out of way to create whatever is my user profile which will then be used to show me targeted advertisements.
In terms of social media affecting our behavior I would say that’s pretty accurate, with regards to amount of likes for a photo / amount of retweets on twitter, the first step really is to not place your potential mood based on interaction/lack of interaction on things. This is where I think taking a step back from the screen to go for a walk or run really helps to ground you on life outside of an algorithmically near perfect world online. The amount of countless hours I’ve spent scrolling rather than doing XYZ has decreased a bit but I am always trying to improve on that! Social media was designed to keep us hooked, it’s all about recognizing that and trying to break the hook that it has on us.
Great post!
Sahara
https://www.saharasdreams.com/
That’s great how intentional you are about posting and clicking. I never click on anything I’m offered. If I’m interested, I do a search and find it myself. It’s difficult not to get caught up in likes and retweets, however, so I admire that you’re taking a step back and go for a run or walk, enjoy the outdoors and decompress! An algorithmically perfect life online is not reality! It’s just distancing us from each other. Let’s keep breaking away from that hook! Thanks so much.
Very intriguing post – got me thinking….
Glad to hear it! Thank you.
This was really interesting. I think at this point we should all be mindful of the fact that we have zero privacy unless we’re in a vacuum with no tech or devices at all. It often works the opposite way for me. The majority of my searching is for either blog collabs I’ve been offered or for products I’ve been sent so the vast majority of the targeted ads I get are for products I already own. And I’m far more cautious about the things I post online, because I’m aware that data is going somewhere. And if I see an article on social media, I search and try to research the subject myself (& I read all of my articles in full whether I like them or not so the argument is balanced in my head). It’s important to be mindful, especially if you use social media a lot! x
Sophie
Agreed! I don’t love the zero privacy aspect of being online, but remembering that fact helps us to be more mindful. Interesting how the targeted ads work, because you already own them. And I agree about fact checking. It’s critical. Thanks!
So true. These are the dilemma of socmed. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for stopping by!
I think you’ve made some really important points in this post. I’m ashamed to say that I’m not in control even though I try to be. Social media truly has taken over the world.
I’m sure you can try to take back some control! Baby steps. Thanks so much.
Hey Sue, thanks for this excellent blog post on dealing with social media! I watched Social Media Dilemma on Netflix as well, and it just shocked me how I knew all of that and still participated in social media anyway. I believe many of us are aware that the algorithms are doing all sorts of manipulations in the background, but the horrifying part is that we allow ourselves to continue to be on those platforms. Anyway, I deleted Instagram 2.5 weeks ago, and my screen time dipped on an average of close to an hour! I don’t think I’ve left for good though…
That’s a big drop. Instagram can be addicting. Maybe you can set parameters for yourself or use a self control app? Then you can stay in control but not give it up! Thanks.
This is so interesting, I like that you’ve looked at both sides and you’ve wrote about it really well. This is the first time I’ve come accross your blog and I love it!
Thank you! I’m happy that you found the post interesting. I’d love it if you’d subscribe!
Such an interesting post, Sue. I definitely have a love hate relationship with social media and Google in particular. I find it alarming how ads are served to me when I haven’t even clicked on anything, for example. My job is social media so it’s not possible to go off grid but it is very tempting sometimes!
I imagine you need to stay plugged in but yes, it is disconcerting to see ads for visited websites. Clear that cache, right? Thanks, Lisa!
It really is such a weird time to be alive! I haven’t see The Social Dilemma yet but I fully believe all of this is happening. One time I was in the car with my sister and was talking out loud about a kind of niche-y thing we wanted to get our dad for christmas, and the next time I went on facebook, I saw an ad for it. Weird!!
Oohhh, that is really weird, Jen. I can’t imagine how that happened, unless it was a coincidence? Stay safe out there! And thanks.
Great post !!! 🙂
Thanks!
What a very thought provoking post! You’re right – ads are very targeted and personalized these days because of data! I try to be more conscious these days of my clicking habit so I don’t spend hours, specially at night just mindlessly scrolling.
I have to hold myself back at night too, so as not to get into a scrolling zone! Thanks so much.
Amazing post. Marketing is such big business. All the platforms want people on them as much as possible. Re-marketing is very real, we are all being stalked by technology.
Stalked by Technology! Exactly right. Thanks so much, Ruth!
Everyone should read this post. Makes you think and is very true
Thank you so much!
A documentary about Social Dilemma is on Netflix and the big guys who are at this during the conception of social apps are now in dilemma. We are easily hooked with these apps! Likes and hearts must be in numbers. I really feel this needs a serious evaluation to our personal lives and to the young gen. Just too much info in one click, but are they accurate? We can make a Conscious
Decision about this. I have started my media detox and focus on important goals or just do something else! I’m happy I managed to achieve a lesser screen time!
How great that you’re already on your way with a media detox! I’m happy you have less screen time, too! Thanks.
This was fantastic! I walk away from reading it feeling much more informed and possibly even able to ‘wriggle off the hook’ of social media and swim free (or freer) than before 🙂
That’s great! Swimming free is the way to go. Thanks so much!
This was a really interesting post to read. I’ve learnt in recent weeks that its OK to take a step back from social media. I found i was constantly refreshing it and not doing much else.
I know exactly what you mean. Social media is addicting! Glad you’re able to step back. Thanks!
You’ve made a lot of really thoughtful points here. Social media can be a blessing, but it definitely comes at a cost. I know I’m always a little freaked out when it’s obvious that my data had been used to cater an ad toward me.
I used to get freaked out too! Now when I see those targeted ads, I am more annoyed. We can try to take steps to take back some control. Thanks so much!
Great post. Someone recently said to me that ” comparison is the thief of joy”. it’s true……
That’s a great quote, isn’t it? (I didn’t come up w/ it. ha) Easier said than done, without question. I’m happy that you liked the post. Thanks!
Super interesting and definitely thought provoking. It’s definitely one of those things where if you think about it too much, it definitely creeps you out. But again, I’m still on social media so it can’t freak me out that much! Becca x
You’re allowed to get freaked out if you want, even being on social media! I’m glad you found it thought-provoking. Thanks!
People need to read this to understand their social media use and its cost. I just saw that Netflix documentary too and it freaked me out
It’s sobering, that’s for sure! I hope a lot of people read this post! Thanks.
I think you are taking the first steps by being aware and informing us! I’m incredibly concerned about the turn big data and technology has taken and particularly its impact on special interest groups like the youth, impoverished, and minorities. It feels like we are all becoming robots for the wealthy.
I enjoyed this! Can’t wait to follow for more.
I think you have a disquieting point about special interest groups! My concerns align with yours! Look at giants like Facebook, who profit from selling our data in the first place. I’d put Mark Zuckerberg in that wealthy category, all right! Thanks so much!
You are perfectly right! A very good article which points perfectly the real problems of today’s life. All these social platforms are trying to transform us in little robots and play with our heads!
Exactly! We are the commodity now. Thanks for stopping by!
Good points here! I know that our privacy level is close to zero these days even if I’m not one of the social media addicts. I think it’s important to understand and educate the young about the differences between reality and social media or youtube. Also, remembering to take breaks and that life happens elsewhere, not online.
Good to hear that you’ve got your social media usage under control! I like your point about reality versus social personas online. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!
I absolutely agree that social media can be addicting and that it knows a TON about us. I also think that it can really impact people’s attentions spans, behaviors, and mental health. We need to be mindful of how, and maybe more importantly how often, we use it.
Well said! I agree. Thank you, Clarissa.
This is such a great post, thank you so much for sharing your insights!
Thank you!
A great read! I completely agree with you, social media can be so addicting. It has such a massive impact on our lives.
Amber | The Unpredicted Page
Without question! Thanks so much.
I absolutely adore this blog post and I actually enjoyed the documentary, most of it I’ve known being a fan of social media for so long I’ve started to work it out.
xoxo Ana
http://www.adreamersland.com
http://www.facebook.com/adreamersland.com
I’m excited that you love my post! Thank you.
As I am studying now about social media and marketing, this is a very interesting topic for me! It’s unbelievable what hides behind Facebook, google etc. and I know very good that we can’t stop the social media process… but as you said – we CAN control ourselfs and what WE are seeing / following to!
I find the science behind social media and marketing fascinating, too! Hidden depths, all right with a lot of psychology thrown in! It’s great that you’re studying these topics in depth. Happy you liked my post. Thanks!
Wow! Great food for thought! Thanks for taking the time to write this!
I’m happy that you found my post edifying! Thank you!
Great post! Social media has a great impact on our lives and it can be very addicting too but I feel the effect social media would have on someone is based on how much importance that person gives to it. This is such a great reminder that we should not get too carried away by social media 💖
I agree. Yes, we need to use social media as a tool, not an emotional crutch! Thanks so much.