Show Notes

There are only two industries that refer to their clients as users — the drug and the tech industry. Today, host Sarah Southwell unpacks key lessons from The Social Dilemma, an alarming documentary on the negative impact of social media. Early in the discussion, Sarah highlights how the documentary interviews industry insiders, many of whom created the code behind platforms like Facebook and Instagram. We chat about how social media has taken away our ability to be in the present moment before talking about its addictive properties. Drawing from the movie’s insights, we dive into the advanced state of the artificial intelligence employed by platforms and how it may be smarter than we are. Sarah shares specifics on how social media damages our children and spreads division through fake news, before providing listeners with advice on how we can better handle our media usage. After touching on why we should regulate media use, Sarah calls on us to take a stand to live more joyous and intentional lives. Social media is everywhere. Tune in to hear more about why this might be a bad thing and what we can do about it.

Keypoints From This Episode

• Parallels between Sarah’s book idea and the documentary, The Social Dilemma.
• How many of the creators behind social media platforms are fearful of what they’ve made.
• The virtues of being present in the moment and not being distracted by social media.
• Why social media can be as addictive as taking drugs.
• Exploring views on artificial intelligence and why it may be smarter than we are.
• Ways that we can wean ourselves off of social media.
• Limiting your children’s access to devices and media.
• From self-harm to suicide, how social media negatively affects our children.
• How the spread of fake news over social media is spreading division.
• Regulating social media and placing age restrictions on its use.
• How apps gather your information even when you’re not using them.
• “Love will save the day;” Sarah shares the antidote to social media.

Links Mentioned in Today's Episode