After
watching Netflix documentary “the Social Dilemma”, we (maybe once again)
understand that there is a manipulation of human behavior for profit by
technology and social media companies. Infinite scrolling and push
notifications keep users constantly engaged; personalized recommendations use
data not just to predict but also to influence our actions, turning users into
easy prey for advertisers and propagandists. By coincidence, following the
Social Dilemma, I started to read the book Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.
The book
highlights the fact that people don’t succumb to screens because they are lazy,
but instead because billions of dollars have been invested to make this outcome
inevitable.
Check this
quote from the book to realize the updated danger:
Let’s face
it, checking your “likes” is the new smoking. They want you to use it in
particular ways and for long periods of time. Because that’s how they make
their money. “Philip Morris just wanted your lungs,” Maher concludes. “The App
Store wants your soul.”
Many of us
tend to use our digital tools/toys more than needed. Compulsive use, in this
context, is not the result of a character flaw, but instead the realization of
a massively profitable business plan. In order to reestablish control, we need
to move beyond tweaks and instead rebuild our relationship with technology from
scratch, using our deeply held values as a foundation.
