Computer Reliability

In Chapter 8, our textbook enumerates some consequences of computerized system failures. These examples largely focus on cases where an automated system failed due to an accident, but the Social Dilemma raises awareness for a different kind of system failure: failure of the design.

Social media was designed to keep people connected. It was intended to augment and improve the ways we interact with one another. These benefits have drawn massive amounts of young people to social media platforms - according to a 2015 study at the Pew Research Center, at least 92% of teenagers are active on social media [2]. Unfortunately, the design of these applications is also intended to create subconscious habits - the scrolling of a finger, double-tapping on an image you like, or tapping into a notification to see who liked your recent post. These companies are able to create subconscious habits within their users, and in younger, more impressionable users, social media platforms can begin to form a correlation between a user's engament - likes, commments, etc - and their own self-worth.

"Rates of teen depression and suicide have skyrocketed since 2011. It’s not an exaggeration to describe iGen as being on the brink of the worst mental-health crisis in decades" [1].

Clearly, not all suicides are related to social media. That being said, there are a concerning amount of cases where negative messages and content shared via social media impacted someone's decision to end their own life.

Social media companies have reshaped the world in a way that has its advantages and its disadvantages. The advantages include the ability to network and maintain relationships with people we would normally would be unable to meet with in person. Features like the "Like" button and the comments section allow us to express ourselves and our opinions, but some research has shown that these design features contrinute to an addictive, sometimes detrimental atmosphere, especially in younger children. The Social Dilemma used dramatized scenes to hit this point home. The youngest child in the movie is shown to be anxious and concerningly self-consious about her online reputation. She was also showsn to be severely addicted to the internet, going so far as to smash a safe that her mother used to temporarily store her cell phone. This example from the film is a hyperbole - a most extreme case - but real-world research is beginning to unveil ties between social media and psychological distress:

"Studies show the benefits of enabling people to express their thoughts and feelings, and to receive social support ... Research has also indicated a link between social media use and psychological problems. A systematic review of 11 studies measuring social media use and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents showed a small but statistically significant relationship....
A meta-analysis of 23 studies showed correlation of problematic Facebook use and psychological distress in adolescent and young adults... Other systematic reviews have also found a meaningful relationship between social media use and depression" [2].

Chapter 8 also makes reference to the use of computer simulations and models for predicting real-world events. Part of the reason why websites like YouTube have become wildly popular is the use of such models - rather than predicting the weather or predicting the population in 2050, these sites can accurately predict and reccomend the content most likely to keep a user's attention. This creates a positive feedback loop where the more you watch, the more the algorithns can learn about you, typically resulting in better reccomendations and more increases in watch time.

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