HSB4U1 – Unit #2 Avery Corredoura

The Social Dilemma – Analysis

1. In your opinion, is social media being used as a tool to promote connectedness, or
hinder our ability to engage in meaningful connection with others? Use examples
from the movie.
The movie "The Social Dilemma" shows us how social media may be used for
developing global connections, but it also illustrates how social media can damage the
ability to connect and form significant connections with others. I believe social media has
been utilized to promote businesses or serve as a reliable source of information for the
global community in helpful ways. However, I could also address these arguments in the
other direction. Certain companies may advertise their products/intentions in ways that
are misleading to the public. Additionally, it is quite apparent that social media may
occasionally be a bad source of knowledge, as proven by websites like Wikipedia and
others. For example, in the movie, it teaches us that social media keeps us connected
because it’s an efficient way to allow us to interact with our community, jobs, family and
friends. This movie provides us evidence that social media is beneficial throughout all its
features. Social media's alerts and notification’s function is quite helpful. By sending
people continuous reminders and displays to their phone, this functionality enables us to
maintain their attention. These include emails, news apps, weather apps, and other
channels. Ontario's provincial alert system is a fantastic illustration of a very essential
notification system. Every individual in Ontario is now able to receive a nonfiction on
their phone that plays a loud alert sound to let them know about any issues that may be
around. On the other hand, social media can restrict our ability to make and engage in
meaningful connections. This movie displays that social media is made to keep us
engaged through notifications and other features. When an individual constantly has
notifications coming through from their social medias, it will soon turn into a consistent
habit of needing to feel the gratification of a notification being received. This can then
lead to individuals spending more time relying on their social media platforms for
entertainment rather than engaging in meaningful conversations with their friends and
family. Overall, this bad habit of constantly needing to be up to date with an individual’s
social media life creating a sense of isolation in social life despite having social media
present.
HSB4U1 – Unit #2 Avery Corredoura

2. Select two concepts from any unit that relate to this movie’s theme – Internal Drives
(Durkheim or Freud), Isolation, Socialization, Adolescent Development, Impact of
Technology on our Behavior, Conformity, etc. Explain in detail how these themes are
relevant and provide examples.

How technology has an impact on one’s behavior and isolation are two great
concepts that can be related back to the movie “The Social Dilemma”. To begin with,
the impact of technology on an individual is the primary subject in this movie. It
outlines many reasons for why technology is designed to influence users' behaviors.
Addictive behaviors are produced by technology, which means that the user will
begin to develop negative habits depending on what they see online. A person's
brain begins to train itself to want to live up to what they are shown on social media
when they use it consistently. Technology use may have a negative influence on a
person's sleep, mental health, and negatively alter their behavioral patterns. The film
also sheds light on how, because of influencers misleading advertising, social media
can encourage competition and comparison. This is another illustration of how
technology influences behavior and may cause people to feel self-conscious about
themselves and have negative impacts on their mental health. Overall, this movie's
message focuses on the issue of how technology affects our behavior and tells us
that we must be more aware of its effects. On the other hand, isolation. It is a shared
feeling among many individuals in our society with social media being one of the lead
factors. The movie "The Social Dilemma" explains how the simplicity of an social
media interaction can satisfy someone but then this can cause people to feel alone
and isolated in their personal lives. This may result from someone becoming
obsessed with what is going on social media and failing to keep their real-world
friendships. One crucial point is that social media was created to keep us interested,
which makes someone feel a false sense of fulfilment and distances them from
reality. Overall, the movie shows the concept of how social media promotes isolation
by showing how important it is to go out in the real world and how if one were to
base their whole existence around technology it would be negative.