Impact of social media: The good, the bad & the ugly

As the current world gets filled with smarter algorithms and connectivity has reached levels of science fiction, it is important to understand how Digital Technology is intertwined with our psyches, lest we overuse it, or fall victim to the dark side of the digital globe.

It is important to note that Social Media platforms are essential to life. Also, in the larger aspect of things, they have done much more good than harm. However, this article is to highlight some aspects of life that seem to have been permanently damaged in the last decade.

Social Media penetration is increasing exponentially. India recorded 70 Crore Internet in 2018 and the latest figures are sure to be much higher owing to the latest Pandemic. A defining feature of Social media platforms is internet usage time. Instagram alone averages almost an Hour per day, globally.

Social Media platforms have become smarter exponentially. They can track users across multiple devices and are constantly updating their idea about your interests and tastes (YouTube recommendations for example). However, this growth in learning is facilitated in a large part by data. Your Data. Most of which is collected unwittingly, some through User consent. 

On an honest note, we being Advertisers, use a substantial chunk of this data in order to show relevant Ads and so, we would be the last sector to outright oppose Data collection. However, the Advertising sector also has specific boundaries and there have been voices of dissent over the years from relatively large players about the ethicality of collecting “more data” than required.

If you are new to the world of Data collection, the first question that you should ask is whatiInformation do these digital & social media platforms know:

1. They know how long you are on a website (time/date/hh:mm: ss).
2. They know the type of content you consume and the duration that you view it.
3. What type of songs you like.
4. What is your current mindset that can range from marketable products to political scenarios?
5. They know what you are searching
6. They know where are you currently located (almost exact location)
7. They know which Posts you liked (even down to the exact reactions)
8. They know what kind of emotions tend to trigger you

The next question that you would naturally ask is what do said firms do with this information?

The larger truth is that most, or almost all of this information are brought back to the Data servers to make an accurate picture of you as a consumer. They allow Ad / Content servers to target you with Ad / Content that is exactly suited to your needs. It is not a surprise that the largest Advertising technology providers are also the largest Data firms (Google, Amazon, and Facebook).

As mentioned by Tristan harris, [Google former design Ethicist], these technology companies have three primary goals

1. Engagement Goal: To drive up your usage, to keep you scrolling 
2. Growth Goal: to keep you coming back and inviting as many friends
3. Advertising Goal: As all this is happening, they make as much as possible

So, in short, the more data you feed into the “system”, the less likely you are to receive random calls promoting loans that you don’t really want. On the contrary, you are more likely to see Ads of the Car on your Insta feed, whose review you have just finished watching.

However, there is a much darker element to all this. That being regulation. Google, Amazon, Facebook, and other major players in the Advertising market adhere to norms of Data Privacy like the older EU Data Protection act, the younger GDPR, CCPA, etc.

However, the same cannot be said for the unregulated players in the market, especially for the Content servers. There have been many notable cases of Social media being used for nefarious, at times life-threatening causes. A survey found that ISIS had successfully conducted a majority of its Offshore recruitments from Social Media platforms: Twitter and Facebook. Also, the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal has shown Facebook in a very negative light for mis-utilizing Consumer data.

Although the ire of the international judiciary has fallen hard on the Tech giants, a pragmatic observation would also be that Social media platforms have truly become larger than the companies that created them. It would be foolhardy to assume that Jack Dorsey has complete control or visibility over each and every malicious twitter thread. The same can be said about bot traffic over Facebook. The harsh truth of the current Digital age is that anti-malware technology is not progressing as fast as spam accounts or malicious handles.

At this point in time, the logical approach would be to allow the Government more jurisdiction in scrutinizing Online content. Many developed and developing nations, notably the United States and the United Kingdom have already implemented a version of such laws; the most famous being the Patriot Act, passed by the US Senate in 2001. India too has a diluted version of the Patriot Act, called the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, which has been amended to include digital activities. There are talks to increase its bandwidth in the Digital monitoring sector.

However reassuring that may sound, Digital policing may not be the bed of roses that they are made out to be. As we learned from the NSA leaks scandal set in motion by Edward Snowden in 2013, Governments may also have been using the Digital space to amass more information than required.

So what really is the solution? Should we go the way of Apple and completely styme the flow of all User information to the Internet? This is acceptable to the point where you realize that Apple is merely blocking third-party apps from accessing your data. They still have your data and can track it.

Before we reach the concluding paragraphs of the article, a very important question that we should ask ourselves is, “Is it really important to care about the data that I am sharing in Digital or Social media platforms?”. Or more importantly, “Is my life really that interesting to hackers or spy agencies?”. Probably not. However, personal security over the net goes beyond the CIA peeping through your keyhole.

I assume that you would have heard of the string of Blue Whale suicides that perpetrated the online community a year ago. This was a direct result of unrestricted net usage along with some very irresponsible decisions. The major takeaway is that children were brainwashed over Social media to kill themselves.

Even if we do not look at the extreme ends of the spectrum, the life of average John / Jane Doe has become subject to online approval and short term pleasures. As a very wise friend says, “We used to have idols, kids nowadays have influences.”

Considering this, it is very important that you regulate the amount of time and information you spend on the digital platform. You should:

1. Turn off the unwanted notifications
2. Unfollow all the useless handles and groups
3. Install only useful Apps
4. Don’t get blindly influenced by social media posts or news
5. Have trust in yourself
6. Use how much is needed, don’t dictate your self-worth through it

As we draw to an end, here are some of the highlights of Digital and Social Media platforms as per my understanding:

Positives:

1. Comprehensive Competitive Analysis
2. Offer nonprofits considerable potential for crafting, supporting, and executing successful fundraising campaigns.
3. Re-united lost family members
4. Found organ donors
5. Brand building
6. Easy Customer Interaction

Negatives:

1. Lacks Emotional Connection
2. The decrease in Face-to-Face Communication
3. Reduces Family Closeness / Lack of in-person communication
4. Wastage of precious time / More of non-productive time

The Digital & Social media world a great boon to our society as it lets us stay connected, even over large distances. However, like all good things in life, it should be controlled and regulated. If used in the wrong way it has the power to destroy lives. Technology is an open-source platform but it’s abilities allow people to voice their opinions and thoughts.

Use Social Media to the extent of your necessities, but do not close yourself off to the actual world. If social media didn’t exist, no one would even know  George Floyd or Breonna Taylor. The fact is that Social media algorithms get to know you by collecting your data. However, a complete personality is built by building physical connections and exploring the physical world as well as the Digital space. So, go out and have some fun in the sun. Don’t forget to wear your masks though. And the next time Facebook turns an eye to the file labeled “You”, it may just find a richer, more content person who does not want its approval in order to lead his/her life.

---

About the author:

Uday Kumar Haliga, Director Of Operations, Oplifi