It only takes one familiar buzz from your phone to grab your attention away from an essay. This is the social dilemma.

With its exploration of “viral conspiracy theories, teenage mental health issues, rampant misinformation and political polarization,” The Social Dilemma is an enjoyable documentary that will make you wary of using social media afterwards.

It captures the disproportionate impact that a small number of engineers in Silicon Valley can have on the way people think, behave and yes, live. Insider insights are woven into the narrative as it tackles issues people face caused by the consumption of content on various media platforms, in a comprehensible yet urgent manner. 

As a student at the University of Saskatchewan, what were you doing prior to just now? Were you studying? How many times have you found yourself itching to check your phone for a message or the number of likes you received on a recent Facebook post?

It is easy to observe how attached people have become to what was initially intended to be a simple calling-and-texting device — the cell phone. However, as you might already know, this device now plays a bigger part in people’s social life. And research suggests that social media has negative effects on students.

A study from the Chinese University of Hong Kong that researched the effects of social media usage among university students showed “growing concerns”. Some of the potential negative impacts found were that social media may adversely affect students’ sense of belonging, psychosocial well-being and identity development.

The main point of The Social Dilemma is that technology impacts the way we think, behave and live our lives. Think of your intentions whenever you make a social media post. Do you do it for yourself or for the validation of others?    

How much more time have you spent on your phone, laptop and video games since the restrictions to control the pandemic were set in place back in March?

If you are genuinely wondering, or if you don’t think this affects you, why not check your screen time? It is a feature found on most phones and Instagram has a similar tracker called “Your Activity” which includes your “Daily Average” time spent on the app over the last week.

It is easy to get lost in this new world of communicating, networking and sharing. The world is at our fingertips, yes, but this is only an invitation to use our brains and critically assess what is and what is not reality.

You can attribute your diminishing attention span and failing grades to innumerable factors but it is a fact that social media plays an invisible and dangerous role.

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Kristine Jones A. Del Socorro | Culture Editor

Photo: Ammara Syeda | Photo Editor