In the US, a country honed on individualization and a me-centric culture, it is debatable whether a thing like privacy is a right or a myth. The Social Dilemma, a documentary that debuted on Netflix, explores how the people as users unknowingly become the product. Companies like Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Reddit, etc. keep users glued to their service by analyzing and selling data of the users to each other to personalize an algorithm and thereby shape a specific worldview to each individual user. Social Media has permeated our society in a way that has never been seen.
Jupiterfab is a multimedia artist based in Mexico, whose art focuses on making a social impact. Jupiter Fab’s art and mural series called “Is this Modern Society”, actively questions this and considers how technology is part of our evolution. “Is this Modern Society?”,is classified as a social initiative by the artist to reflect on how technology’s growth impacts human necessity. How can the bridge between art and technology grow to evolve to our needs as people? Like the non-stop growth of social media, these series of murals have no expiration date, as they continue to pop up.
The first mural in this series of murals is two different perspectives, from two different search engines. On one side you see a man one his laptop searching the words, “Love sucks,”. Then you see a space in between the walls because of the garage entrance, and on the other side is a girl searching the words, “Love is great.” Whether or not this is a classic opposites attract narrative, the mural works with the space to showcase the distance in basic thinking that’s further separating us.
The notion of becoming a product and having these companies sell your data is uncomfortable to the masses but it was widely unknown. By selling user data, the algorithm can adhere to a user’s specific view depending on where they are in the world. For example in the documentary, they bring up climate change. If you search “Is climate change real?” in New York, you will get a yes answer, contrasting if you lived in the deep south, where your more likely going to get no as an answer. Meaning that the search engines don’t offer true objectivity but rather want to make the user feel unchallenged in their worldview. Similar to the mural, the instant gratification that a google search can provide makes it impossible to connect with fellow human beings.
The Social Dilemma uncovers the truth behind these companies and their tactics: To keep you glued to the phone all the time. The Social Dilemma uncovers not only the programs behind the algorithm but the people behind them. A lot of them have left their respective companies upon realizing the harm these platforms perpetuate. Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp were all individual companies until Facebook was able to acquire those platforms among many more. Most users don’t realize this until you log out and notice that under each individual logo says, “Powered by Facebook” Essentially if you use one, the information you store, will be sold to another company that will want your attention.
Similar to showcasing the distance of two people in the “Love sucks” mural, Jupiter Fab also presented this same dichotomy in a 2019 mural that contrasts two different families. One family is bonding by watching television together, therefore not actually spending time with one another. Rather they’re all glued to the same screen and happen to be in the same room together. On the other side, a mother and a father have cast their phones aside and play with blocks with their child. Dialing down on screen time and actually taking time to see how your children learn is important to a child’s development.
A mural that is particularly striking is one of a little boy holding a can to his ear waiting for a response from his friend on the other side. The string playfully outlines the side of this building and his friend is texting on his cell phone instead of talking to him through the can. This mural truly speaks to the evolution that Jupiter Fab was getting at, as children are starting to get used to having phones around. It’s a change from imagination in the cans and childhood, to zoning out constantly. Technology has proliferated to a point where even infants play with phones instead of blocks, thereby altering our evolution.
The other murals show what our modern society has evolved to which is groves of people glued to their cell phones. Because social media and technology has such prevalence and value to our society now, it’s impossible not to give in to the information void, to stay “connected”. We no longer question these companies and the umbrella they fall under because they’ve succeeded in having us addicted to screens. Companies want this, and technology will not be obsolete ever again. The further step is understanding our nature as people, and adapting to how technology fits into those needs. Modern society has reduced human interaction to shares, likes and numbers.
This further distances us as people, but brings us closer to social media, offering a strange conundrum. Social Media has the ability to connect people from all over the world, yet people have never felt lonelier in their life. The like buttons and followers caused major depression with people, the documentary shows. We can keep up to date with our friends lives, celebrities lives, news, yet we never truly know one another anymore outside of the facade of a screen. Conversation is a lost form, replaced by texting when we’re bored. The dilemma is in understanding how to disconnect from our devices, and reconnect with each other, reminding ourselves we are human beings, not products to these companies.
