A-The Social Dilemma

 

A/The Social Dilemma

‘A’ and ‘The’ are categorized as articles in English language. ‘A’ for that is new, unknown so far and may be unexplored, while ‘The’ is known as ‘Definitive Article’ and used when the thing, person, process or the phenomenon, is specific , known to mankind and may be not so unknown in the recent past !

As the title suggests I could not put this blog in either. If you consider, Is it a new occurrence, yes, relatively new and was unknown before a decade or two. Or is it what we did predict but is showing its fangs now, so not so new. Yes it fits here too. Though the results started pouring in after 2009, it became a known fact and thus it could be referred to as ‘The’ phenomenon!

It’s the slow encroachment of electronic media, rather social platforms into our day today lives. Once which was a novelty is turning into hundred headed hydra, difficult to defeat. As one of the researcher on the topic described, very aptly, “The Genie” has been let loose out of the bottle and it now is well nigh impossible to push it back in the bottle again!

The panel of experts consisted of many professionals who had worked with different social platforms in different capacities for years together and were instrumental in letting venom slowly creep in the social fabric of every society. A candid step, putting themselves in the dock but at the same time expressing their inability to do anything or take any concrete steps to stop the exploding mushroom becoming bigger and bigger.

At the length they discussed about the impending doom in the offing by all these social media, notably, Facebook, Google, What’s App, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram Twitter and so many others who have got the newer generation hooked on the malicious device aka ‘Android’ or iPhone!

[Presently they are not!]

They are 1.Tristan Harris, Google 2.Kim Kendal, Face Book 3.Jaron Lanier, Virtual 4.Roger McNamee Investor facebook,5. Justin Rosenstein, Facebook, Google 6.Shoshana Zuboff.Harvard Business school, Professor emirate 7.Jeff Seibert, Twitter 8. Sandy Parakilas  Facebook 9.Joe Toscano Google so many other who were ‘There’ and know ‘How to manipulate the product.’ Here, ‘We’ are the product.

Data from any operation we do on any of these platforms is stored in meticulously, and then this data is analyzed to the last byte so that they can come to a derivation , “What type of personality ‘The Product’ holds! ” and it is blatantly used to make us take our further steps unknowingly, La ‘Inception’ type.

These platforms not only seduce you to get addicted to them but by persuasive manipulation make you take steps you might have not fathomed ,had it been otherwise. Very blatantly Edward Tufte has put ‘ There are only two industries that call their customers ‘Users’ : Illegal drugs and ‘Software’!

The generations that were born either in 50s or 60s are lucky to escape the throttling grip of these platforms but the one that was in late childhood, say 8 onward or early teens was totally caught in the web of this slow poison.[The data was collected around 2000-2009]The Suicide rate in preteen girls in USA is remarkably increasing because of ‘Shaming’ on these platforms for their looks or lack of it, their ancestry, their race you call it and it’s there!  I may call myself lucky being in late 60s, but the generation that we are bringing up in this explosive situation is most vulnerable and does not pay heed to what the elders are trying to bring them to, a natural world without ‘Artificial Intelligence’ due to the spell it has cast on them! Ignorant parents, Neo rich parents, Peer pressure playing their roles at different levels and at different stages of life. I might dissuade my child , not to use iPhone, lest he gets addicted to it and  all its applications but in a class of 25, if 20 are going to flash their latest models of iPhone, my child definitely will develop ‘Inferiority complex’ Then the option would be to enroll him in school, mostly for have-nots! Will I do it? A big question mark!

But it is not simple as that, affecting only social life. In American Presidential election Russia used the available data blatantly to get their choice of candidate elected without wedging any war, warm or cold, or getting involved overtly or covertly! She[ Russia] just played her cards well ! In Myanmar public opinion was deliberately twisted in such a fashion that the Army itself was made to take action against Rohingya Muslims. And it is getting repeated in Brazil, Spain, Italy, everywhere! Unrest has become the universal rule because the whipping up of the passion to the enormous levels has become the main key in the play that’s being well played by these companies to their benefits. The chant that was used universally in all these situations was “The Democracy is in danger!” Something very familiar?!

Closer home though Rahul Gandhi still denies, AI help was [allegedly] taken from British company, fortunately or unfortunately it did not help the Congress to win the elections. But that did not stand true for the riots near Pune, allegedly made to happen on the basis of data collected from the international data companies. India still mostly is a computer naive country. The reach of these media in the mofussil areas though less at present but is slowly raising its head and about to engulf the entire nation, not far in the future. One who will use it wisely and precisely will keep on winning the next elections. And the wind is already blowing in that direction. Simple logic is ‘If you convince one person that Earth is flat, through any means ,mostly religious but even pseudo scientific, he in turns converts ten others to believe that the Earth is flat' and that’s how the expected results are brought about. So aptly said ‘Fake News spreads 6 times faster than the real one!’ And the most  important doubt that could be raised,  at the end of the day would be, “What’s real?” Is it what is fed to us?

None denies the good impacts of the new technologies like bringing families together; getting much needed medical help urgently at the earliest; making technology user friendly; making tasks easier and at faster rate,[ The analyzing speed of computer has increased by million times over last decade] oh so many other. But when asked, “Whether you would like your children to use these applications?”, It was vehement ‘NO’ from everybody. They preferred limited screen time and introduction of social media only after the age of 16, thinking , probably by that time” Better sense prevails”

In search of ‘Utopia’ we inadvertently have reached ‘Dystopia’ and then the real poser would be

“ Whether it is to be Utopia or Oblivion, will be a touch and go relay race, right up to the final moment…”

                                      Thanks to the Netflix Documentary “Social Dilemma” it was an eye opener!