The Social Dilemma on Netflix

[rtraverdavis]

Has anyone else seen this? I mean, holy shit. There have been numerous posts here on Hunt Talk lately about the political division in our country, and the way it affects hunting and public land—among everything else. I’ve been anxious for a long time now about what appears to me as the disintegration of objective truth in the way important topics are covered and understood, and this documentary explains how every person’s individual media feed is completely responsible for creating that situation.

I could go on and on about it, but I really recommend you watch it for yourself.

 

[nrpate05]

My wife and I watched it the other night and it was certainly eye-opening and kinda scary. I think some of it may have to be taken with a grain of salt, but a lot of good points were made. The depression and suicide rates that correlate with the onset of social media was crazy to see. Hopefully people will start putting the phone down after this...

 

[LopeHunter]

Have you ever bought a dessert at the bakery or store that looked amazing then as tried a bite realized was a crappy dessert? That is social media. Social media is a blessing for interacting with family and friends, especially if some of you live far apart or are homebound. I can keep up on important things in their lives rather than try to catch up in a Christmas card or at the class reunion. That is as good as social media gets for me. I do not use social media for "calls to action" for causes I care about. I do not try to use social media to make my life appear like a better "dessert" than actually is. I only "debate" smart friends that actually are well-read on the topic and understand nuances arise as you learn more about issues.

The part of social media that makes me only spend 15 minutes a day on social media is the ignorance shown partnered with my awareness that few of my friends are so young or naive that they could be moved by even the most compelling argument showing their view is flawed. Old dogs, for better or worse, are slow to learn new tricks. I really don't care if you prefer Coke over Pepsi, spend your Sunday in Church or watching sports, prefer a bow over a rifle, eat meat or not, vote R or D or I or a mish mash, prefer a dog or a cat, earned a PhD or a GED, live in the city or RFD, drive a hybrid or a diesel, etc. I like that my friends and family are a diverse bunch that knows when to brake check me and when they are due for one as well.

 

[rtraverdavis]

My wife and I watched it the other night and it was certainly eye-opening and kinda scary. I think some of it may have to be taken with a grain of salt, but a lot of good points were made. The depression and suicide rates that correlate with the onset of social media was crazy to see. Hopefully people will start putting the phone down after this...

I agree that aspects of the film were a bit over-dramatized, and the whole scope of the problems they were trying to address were overwhelming. But, to me at least, I think that's the point. The only form of social media I engage in is here, on Hunt Talk, so I am not particularly worried about its effects on me personally. But what you mentioned about social media consumption and its correlation with depression and anxiety--especially in kids--is something I have witnessed first-hand at my job. I'm a middle school teacher, and I've seen kids laid to waste over stuff that's happened in their social media.

But to the point I was getting at in my original post about social media being largely responsible for the growing political division, the decline of rational civil discourse, and what appears to be the rapid extinction of objective truth that our country is plagued with right now--that was a new idea to me, and it scares the hell out of me. The way media content is curated for each individual user to garner the most screen time (and bring in the most ad revenue) creates the ultimate echo chamber. A world in which the reality is whatever your particular bent is already skewed towards, and fake news is the siren steering you to shipwreck.

I genuinely hope I'm being overly sensitive in my fears about this. I need to go hunting. One month from Wednesday and I'm off to Wyoming.

 

[Jmscon]

The wife and I watched it last night! Seeing the stats of self mutilation and suicide laid out was surprising but believable. The moving graph showing the growing political divide was not surprising one bit. The net is a great source of info but there is a giant abyss of misinformation that people are sucked into and, in some instances (such as the pizza gate deal, idolizing school shooters, etc.) are scary as hell!

The wife and I have a lot of work to do when our kids make it to middle and high school anyway. We don’t need that kind of pressure, bullying and mean shit happening.

Here in Washington, There was a poaching ring that was busted up a few years back. The main goal of the ring was to kill an animal and post it to their groups page and the others would try to up them by killing a larger or better animal. Lots of wasted animals! Thrill killers!

 

[wsking]

Just finished it tonight and it was definitely eye opening. I am a high school teacher and certainly felt like I had a handle on most of the negatives of social media. I didn’t realize how much more there was to know. Feels like we got a peek behind the curtain with a number of those big tech developers coming forward and speaking on these issues. Glad I watched it and am better informed.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Good thing I don't do social media of any kind except for this and one other hunting forum.

 

[noharleyyet]

Good thing I don't do social media of any kind except for this and one other hunting forum.

No shit....

 

[Bob-WY]

Haven't seen it but all the above doesn't surprise me, there's so much miss leading, or wrong information, or at best slanted. Combine that with the skill of discussion/debate that social media seems to foster and you see why people in riots think they can get in your face, yell, push etc. It's all fostered by social medis. This site isn't free from it either, look at any controversial topic, how long does it take to devolve into childish name calling rather than a discussion?

The anonymous aspect of social media where you never have to face who you are talking to, lends to the "internet tough guy" persona, over time it becomes habit and then becomes the in person persona as well.

Sad really. Common sense and common decency are dead.

 

[noharleyyet]

Everyone gets be Elvis/Chuck Norris behind a keyboard.... and get a bunch of these

 

[longbow51]

Not original to me, but 1984 was meant to be a cautionary tale, not an instructional manual. Control the information and you control behavior.

 

[Irrelevant]

Not original to me, but 1984 was meant to be a cautionary tale, not an instructional manual. Control the information and you control behavior.

Missed this thread as I was elk hunting, but I read 1984 for the first time this spring and holy hell was it scary. I gave it to my hunting partner this summer, when he gave it back it said he really struggled with it, he just couldn't read it for very long. It was too real.

 

[JLS]

We watched this a while back. It truly is concerning when we struggle to agree on what basic truths exist.

 

[Colorado hunter Tim]

I have stopped almost all social media. I do not watch the news period (as I don't believe it is news, it seems like it is just trying to stir people up, and it's working). I have really enjoyed just being outdoors any chance I get. I really liked the idea of social media because I have lived in quite a few different places, and therefore have friends spread out all over the U.S. It was nice to be able to keep up with old friends from the military and from just random places. I found that I would spend hours and hours just getting worked up over things that really didn't even exist in reality. I go out now and talk to real people and have real life experiences and most if not all of the issues being reported are just false narratives. Now I only go on social media to send a message to a friend. I have not watched this show, but I will. Please do everything you can to make your children put down their electronics, and get them out in the real world. It is still a great place with a lot of great people of all races, religions, political beliefs.

 

[rtraverdavis]

Missed this thread as I was elk hunting, but I read 1984 for the first time this spring and holy hell was it scary. I gave it to my hunting partner this summer, when he gave it back it said he really struggled with it, he just couldn't read it for very long. It was too real.

Another great book in that same vein—and perhaps even more prophetic in that in it, it is we ourselves who are big brother and bring about our own destruction—is Huxley’s A Brave New World. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend. It’s scary.

 

[JT88]

"There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true, the other is to refuse to believe what is true." - Soren Kierkegaard

It seems to me one of the major things that has held America together has been how we can agree on what is right and wrong. Or at least strive to find common ground. Hard to believe where we're headed now

 

[noharleyyet]

Have started and stopped Atlas Shrugged more than a few times...

 

[Nameless Range]

Another great book in that same vein—and perhaps even more prophetic in that in it, it is we ourselves who are big brother and bring about our own destruction—is Huxley’s A Brave New World. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend. It’s scary.

Both are great books, but Brave New World nailed it. Far more than 1984. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07...orld-network-dark-future-predictions/11291960


“The Savage nodded, frowning. "You got rid of them. Yes, that's just like you. Getting rid of everything unpleasant instead of learning to put up with it. Whether 'tis better in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows or outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them...But you don't do either. Neither suffer nor oppose. You just abolish the slings and arrows. It's too easy."

..."What you need," the Savage went on, "is something with tears for a change. Nothing costs enough here.”

 

[EKYHunter]

Someone above said that there is no objectivity in the media anymore. That’s so true. Seems to me that all media today is biased either right or left and that this is exactly how their target audience wants them to be. I’m guilty of it myself.

 

[TOGIE]

my gut tells me that social media and the difficulty of finding or understanding any objectivity or reasonableness in all aspects of life are reaching all time levels of concerning. divisiveness seem more problematic than ever

but the other part of my gut says this is nothing new, the media has been whack since it's inception, in whatever form it comes in (whenever that might be, but it was certainly before america existed), truth has always been difficult to discern

seems every generation thinks their generation, or the one below them specifically, is the cause of all the problems. yet i remember hearing how aristotle (socrates?) spoke about how whack the youth were in his days with their disrespect for elders and their selfishness. even aristotle was pissin and moanin about millenials......

i think there are two things my naive brain seems to think are true anymore: 1) the only thing constant in life is change and 2) the only reality in this universe is that nothing ever changes