Friday, March 11, 2022

3SocStructure Lesson 13: Debriefing Social Dilemma



Resources from the Movie:


Full, unedited Social Dilemma Transcript available here.

Articles/Publications:

Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab

Stanford University Behavior Design Lab


Stanford U. Persuasion Through Mobile Design Lab is run by BJ Fogg, behavior scientist at Stanford, https://www.bjfogg.com/

In 2006 we created a video to warn the FTC (and others) about problematic areas related to persuasive technology. See the video here: https://vimeo.com/117427520

(BJ’s quick note: This video above has a slow pace, and it’s not my best look, with the shaved head and all. However, do listen to what I was predicting and warning people about. At least go to minute 10 and see what I say about the political use of persuasion profiles. We recorded this video in 2006 to warn policymakers of the impacts persuasive technology could have. Remember, this message was recorded in 2006 not 2016 and the message rings true more and more every day.)


Simone Stolzoff from Wired (2018) explains in The Formula for Phone Addiction Might Double As a Cure

Ten years ago, a Stanford lab created the formula to make technology addictive. Now, Silicon Valley is dealing with the consequences.

"IN SEPTEMBER 2007, 75 students walked into a classroom at Stanford. Ten weeks later, they had collectively amassed 16 million users, $1 million dollars in advertising revenue, and a formula that would captivate a generation.

The class—colloquially known as "The Facebook Class"—and its instructor, BJ Fogg, became Silicon Valley legends."



False News Travels Faster Than True Stories On Twitter

2018 Research from MIT


Research project finds humans, not bots, are primarily responsible for spread of misleading information.

“We found that falsehood diffuses significantly farther, faster, deeper, and more broadly than the truth, in all categories of information, and in many cases by an order of magnitude,” says Sinan Aral, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and co-author of a new paper detailing the findings."

Here is an article from Slate explaining the research. My full movie notes are available here.



Google Form for this lesson.
Debrief Questions:
    1.  As we finish the movie, what are your general thoughts about the film?  What is your biggest takeaway?


    2.  What did you think of the cast of commenters? Was their experience compelling?  Click here for the list of people.


    3.  What do you think the claim/thesis of the film was?   Click here for a summary of the film's section "What's the Problem?"


    4.  What are the effects of the problem/ the evidence for the claim above?  Click here for Part 3 Summary: The Evidence and Effects


    5.  If you have a cell phone that monitors usage, check your usage - how many hours do you spend on it on average?



    Actions You Can Take:
    From the documentary website: https://www.thesocialdilemma.com/take-action/

    Here is a summary of the individual actions you can take today:
    • Uninstall apps from my phone that are wasting your time such as social media apps and news apps.
    • Turn off notifications. Turning off all notifications. I’m not using Google anymore, I’m using Qwant, which doesn’t store your search history.
    • Never accept a video recommended to you on YouTube. Always choose. There are tons of Chrome extensions that remove recommendations. 
    • Before you share, fact-check, consider the source, do that extra Google. If it seems like it’s something designed to really push your emotional buttons, like, it probably is. Essentially, you vote with your clicks. If you click on clickbait, you’re creating a financial incentive that perpetuates this existing system. 
    • Make sure that you get lots of different kinds of information in your own life. I follow people on Twitter that I disagree with because I want to be exposed to different points of view.
    6.  What action above might be beneficial to you the most?



    Research and Effects of Digital Devices on Students

    Besides being good for society, democracy, and living in a world with a shared reality, there are more personal and practical reasons for being mindful of social media.

    See this post for a list of research-based conclusions why digital media is bad for your learning and your grades


    7.  What research from the post/link above seems like it is either most compelling or most applicable to you?  Why?  Do you think it is doable?



    Big Data and YOU:
    • Have you ever stopped to think about what social media knows about you?  Think about the last time you bought something at a store.  If the salesperson was a stranger, would you tell them everything that your social media knows about you?  Look at this post from Tech News and the chart that they included from clario (below):

    8.  Is this surprising?  What apps that you use have the most data on you stored? 


    Google and Varied Realities

    Below are a few Google searches that I started.  How does Google fill in the same query when you type it in?  Are your search results different?



    9.  Are any of the three Google Searches above different for you?  How?


    From the movie:  How should we respond to this problem?  What can we do? 


    What questions do you still have about socialization and the media?



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