The Social Dilemma

A 2020 Documentary on Social Media

Counseling Lesson Topic

Your KNMS Counselors will be showing and discussing this popular documentary with 7th grade students during the month of January.

January 25, 26, & 27

Example Talking Points with your Child

Addiction, Anxiety, Depression - Platforms are designed to reward distraction and keep us hooked - at the expense of our wellbeing - to fuel their business.

Statistics:

Teenagers who spend 3 hours/day or more on devices are 35% more likely, and those who spend 5 hours or more are 71% more likely, to have a risk factor for suicide than those who spend less than one hour.
A 5,000 person study found that higher social media use correlated with self-reported declines in mental and physical health and life satisfaction.

Discussion:

Do you find yourself unconsciously checking your phone or certain apps? Did this - or the impulse to - happen at all while watching the film? What emotions seem to trigger this behavior?
What kinds of emotional responses do you have to the content in your feed? What content tends to have a negative impact on your well-being? How often do you see it?
Experts recommend setting your own social media limitations on notifications, apps, daily usage, and more. What limits have you set for yourself? How well do these work?

Fake News, Biased Algorithms, Polarization - “You look over at the other [political] side, and you start to think, ‘How can those people be so stupid? Look at all of this information that I’m constantly seeing. How are they not seeing that same information?' And the answer is: they are not seeing that same information.”

Statistics:

Fake news spreads 6x faster than accurate news on Twitter, and falsehoods are 70% more likely to be retweeted.
80% of students mistake "sponsored content" ads for legitimate news.

Discussion:

Do you think it's important for everyone to have the same set of facts? Do you follow people and sources you disagree with? Why or why not?
From what sources do you and your friends typically get news and information? Do you feel these are trustworthy? How do you know something isn't fake news?

Here is the Official Trailer

We tweet, we like, and we share— but what are the consequences of our growing dependence on social media? As digital platforms increasingly become a lifeline to stay connected, Silicon Valley insiders reveal how social media is reprogramming civilization by exposing what’s hiding on the other side of your screen.