I watched The Social Dilemma the other day—mostly because I saw everyone talking about it on Facebook (which is ironic). And, right off the top, I want to say that it’s a sobering and informative piece. For many folks, this documentary didn’t offer any new information. But it’s critical that we remind ourselves (and each other) that we are the product tech companies are manipulating and selling to advertisers.
After the documentary was over, I reflected on the ecclesiological implications. The universal problems that social media creates are bad enough, but what does it mean for the church. What challenges does it pose for the kingdom of God? I think it can be fair.
Are we being programmed?
As the doc pointed out, these platforms aren’t really interested in selling our data. They’re making billions of dollars by selling our attention. Which means they need to do two things:
Predict our behavior
Keep our attention
The sobering reminder at the heart of The Social Dilemma is that they’re using manipulation to accomplish both feats. Not only does a sophisticated algorithm accurately predict your behavior, but it also uses notifications and individually selected content to keep you engaged. The problem is that they serve up content based entirely on your past behavior. It’s like having a butler who recognizes your penchant for sweets and now only feeds you pie. Unfortunately, this means that social platforms zero on your current opinions and attitudes and then lock them into place. What’s chilling is the fact that these programs are unable to differentiate between truth and fiction. If you’ve demonstrated a penchant for right-wing information, it has no problem suggesting news stories and videos to you that promote QAnon conspiracies, COVID and anti-mask propaganda, or other nonsense. It cannot discern the quantifiable differences in content. It just knows you hate liberals and wants to suggest more articles about that.
No matter your starting point, social media algorithms will suggest groups, pages, and content that pushes you further down that rabbit hole. This is why there so many stories about people who have been sucked into an insane vortex. It starts with someone’s son reading a right-wing blog and ends with them posting on Bugaloo Boy message boards.
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