Social Media is the biggest love hate relationship of our generation. We just can’t live without it. However, sometimes we also wish it didn’t exist and go back to when life was much simpler, better, and real.
What are the pros of social media? After all, it has brought so much joy to our lives; so much entertainment, openness to the world, supported human rights movements, education and have given us platforms to express ourselves and discover new talents. The cons? It is changing how we perceive the world, creating new and often unrealistic standards, isolating people behind their phones and driving people to obsession and, possibly, even depression.
Educating ourselves on the potential dangers of social media and the mechanics behind it is a must. We are the first generation experimenting with social media and as such, we are the ones who can give critical feedback and avoid causing any dangers to ourselves and for future generations to come. How to start? Here are a few recommendation of the most interesting documentaries about social media you should watch.
A pretty scary title but a fantastic eye opener and a great reminder of how to be careful with social media. For the happy part, the team in the documentary also aims at finding a cure.
Looking at social media from a medical angle. This documentary investigates the impact of social media on the brain and wants to inspire the youth to self-regulate.
The real life story of a 16 year-old teen living in the countryside in the US and chasing his dream to be famous on social media. This documentary won the jury award at the Sundance Film Festival.
Such a smart and well done documentary. Follow 3 types of social media user: an aspiring bikini model, a high school popular girl and a teenager willing to risk his life for the best instagram shot. It all looks great at first until these guys start opening up about threat messages, shaming and assault.
A lighter documentary with all the top instagram celebrities: the fat jewish, Emily Ratajkowski, Paris Hilton etc. An inside look of how social media has made these guys who they are today and their views on how to use it.
Social media is also the biggest data collector and privacy sensitive platforms we have. The Great Hack shows you how our own data has been used and what are the dangers for more privacy breaches.
Go behind the scenes of one of the biggest failures of our decade: the FYRE festival. The whole hype behind it was solely built on social media and influencers.
