Cómo nos manipulan en las redes sociales | Santiago Bilinkis | TEDxRiodelaPlata

Summary

This script explores the manipulative power of technology, particularly social media and screens, on our daily lives. It discusses how tech companies exploit our vulnerabilities to keep us engaged and consuming content, leading to negative impacts such as addiction, loneliness, and self-esteem issues. The speaker urges us to understand these mechanisms to take control of our lives and use technology to create and share experiences, rather than being consumed by it.

Takeaways

• 📱 The script discusses the addictive nature of technology, particularly smartphones, which are used as a tool to manipulate our thoughts and actions.
• 👀 The Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University is highlighted as a place where researchers work on using digital platforms to influence user behavior.
• 📊 The speaker emphasizes that technology companies are in a race to capture our attention, competing against each other to keep us engaged on their platforms for as long as possible.
• 🚫 The script mentions that these companies exploit our vulnerabilities, such as the need for social acceptance and validation, to keep us hooked on their services.
• 👶 It points out that even young children and babies are not immune to this manipulation, with platforms designed to capture their attention from a very early age.
• 💔 The speaker highlights the negative impact of social media on self-esteem, as it often leads to unrealistic comparisons and dissatisfaction with one's own life.
• 🔒 The script warns that we are often unaware of the contracts we sign with these companies, giving them access to our personal data and behavior without fully understanding the implications.
• 🛑 The former president of Facebook and the founder of Netflix are cited as examples of industry insiders who have expressed regret or admitted to exploiting user vulnerabilities for profit.
• 🤔 The importance of questioning the business models of free services is underscored, as there is always a cost, whether it be our time, attention, or personal information.
• 🛡️ The script concludes with a call to action, urging us to understand how these manipulative mechanisms work so we can protect ourselves and take control of our digital lives.
• 🌐 It suggests that we should use technology as a tool to enhance our lives, focusing on creating and sharing experiences rather than passively consuming content.

Q & A

What is the main concern raised by the speaker about our interaction with technology?

The speaker is concerned about the addictive nature of technology and how it manipulates our thoughts and actions, often leading to neglect of real-life interactions and potential negative impacts on mental health.

What is the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University?

The Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University is a research center where brilliant researchers work to understand how to use websites and mobile apps to manipulate what we think and do, taking advantage of the vulnerabilities of the mind.

How often do we typically unlock our cell phones in a day according to the speaker?

According to the speaker, we unlock our cell phones about 150 times a day, which averages to once every 6 minutes during our waking hours.

What is the 'attention hack' as described in the script?

The 'attention hack' refers to the strategies used by companies to capture and retain users' attention on their platforms. This includes the use of visual and sound notifications and other distractions to keep users engaged and increase the time spent on their platforms.

Why do companies like Facebook and Netflix use various tricks to distract users?

Companies like Facebook and Netflix use tricks to distract users because their business model relies on selling user attention to advertisers. Every second a user spends on their platform is a second that can be monetized.

What does the speaker suggest is the reason behind the increasing use of photos and videos in social media?

The speaker suggests that the increasing use of photos and videos in social media gives an overblown importance to aesthetics and physique, which can lead to a distorted self-image and comparison with others' highlighted moments.

How does the speaker describe the impact of social media on self-esteem and social acceptance?

The speaker describes that social media impacts self-esteem by promoting a fascination with the lives of others and an obsession with our own image. Likes and the number of followers have become a quantifiable currency for social acceptance.

What are some of the negative consequences of early screen exposure for children as mentioned in the script?

The script mentions that early screen exposure for children can lead to negative consequences in areas such as language acquisition, attention span, and socio-emotional development.

Why does the speaker argue that the current situation with technology is different from past concerns about new media?

The speaker argues that the current situation is different because the devices we carry, such as smartphones, are not just one device but a combination of many, including a phone, camera, TV, and more. They are with us at all times and offer an unlimited flow of content, which can significantly impact our lives.

What solution does the speaker propose to combat the manipulative effects of technology?

The speaker proposes that instead of completely abandoning technology, we should understand how these manipulative mechanisms work to defend ourselves. We should also aim to use technology to create and live shared experiences rather than just consume content.

How does the speaker suggest we can take control of our lives amidst the influence of technology?

The speaker suggests that by understanding the business models behind the apps and platforms we use, we can make more informed decisions about our engagement with technology. The goal is to put technology at the service of the life we want to live, not the life that others want us to live.

Outlines

00:00

📱 The Impact of Screen Obsession

This paragraph discusses the author's personal observation of a woman in a bar, engrossed in her cell phone, ignoring her son's attempts to get her attention. It raises the question of how often we are similarly oblivious to our surroundings due to our screen obsession. The author then reveals that we unlock our phones 150 times a day on average, highlighting the pervasive influence of technology in our lives. The Stanford University's Persuasive Technology Lab is mentioned as a place where researchers work on how to manipulate our thoughts and actions through digital platforms. The author concludes that the manipulation we experience through technology is not accidental but a deliberate strategy employed by tech companies to exploit our psychological vulnerabilities.

05:00

🎯 The Attention Economy and Its Pitfalls

The second paragraph delves into the business model of free online services, which rely on advertising and the collection of personal data to segment and target users with specific messages. The author describes the 'attention hack' as a race among companies like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Netflix, and Fortnite to capture and retain user attention, as it is a commodity they sell to advertisers. The narrative includes the confessions of former tech executives who acknowledge exploiting human vulnerabilities to make platforms addictive. It also touches on how free services can lead to lowered vigilance and the manipulation of self-esteem through social media, leading to a distorted self-image and a focus on superficial aspects of life.

10:01

💔 The Emotional and Social Consequences

This paragraph explores the emotional and social consequences of the attention economy, focusing on the impact on self-esteem, particularly in the context of social media. It discusses the negative effects of comparing ourselves to the curated highlights of others' lives, which can lead to dissatisfaction and disappointment. The author also addresses the quantification of social acceptance through likes and followers, which can lead to a narcissistic focus on image rather than genuine enjoyment of life. Additionally, the paragraph touches on the exploitation of vulnerable groups such as those seeking love through dating apps and teenagers, as well as the concerning trend of screen time for infants, which can have detrimental effects on their development.

15:05

🛡️ Fighting Back Against Manipulation

The final paragraph offers a call to action, suggesting that while we don't need to abandon technology entirely, we must become more aware of the manipulative tactics used by tech companies. The author emphasizes the importance of understanding these mechanisms to defend ourselves against them. It encourages users to question the business models behind the apps and services they use and to consider the behaviors and information these companies seek from us. The paragraph concludes with a message of empowerment, urging us to take control of our lives and use technology in a way that enhances our experiences and supports the life we want to live, rather than being controlled by it.

Keywords

💡Persuasive Technology Lab

The Persuasive Technology Lab is a research center located at Stanford University in the heart of Silicon Valley. It is dedicated to studying how websites and mobile apps can be designed to influence users' thoughts and actions. In the video, it is highlighted as a place where researchers work to manipulate our behaviors through technology, which ties into the overarching theme of how technology is being used to control and influence our lives.

💡Behavioral Economics

Behavioral economics is a field of study that combines insights from psychology and economics to understand how people make decisions. In the context of the video, it is mentioned as one of the disciplines that have identified vulnerabilities of the mind, which tech companies exploit to manipulate our thoughts and actions through personalized content and notifications.

💡Attention Hack

The term 'attention hack' refers to the strategies used by tech companies to capture and maintain users' attention on their platforms. The video explains that companies like Facebook and Netflix use various tactics, such as visual and sound notifications, to distract users and keep them engaged with the platform, thereby selling their attention to advertisers.

💡Social Media

Social media is a collective term for websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or participate in social networking. The video discusses the negative impacts of social media, such as the promotion of unrealistic standards of beauty and physique, and its role in fostering narcissism and dissatisfaction with one's own life by constantly comparing oneself to others.

💡Self-Esteem

Self-esteem refers to the overall subjective evaluation of one's own worth. The script points out that social media and the prevalence of images and videos can disproportionately emphasize aesthetics and physique, which can negatively affect users' self-esteem. This is particularly concerning as it can lead to a distorted self-image and dissatisfaction with one's own life.

💡Narcissistic Swamp

The term 'narcissistic swamp' is used metaphorically in the video to describe the state of being overly absorbed in social media, where users become trapped in a cycle of seeking validation and attention from others. This leads to a focus on presenting an idealized version of oneself to the world, rather than genuinely enjoying life.

💡Manipulation

Manipulation, in the context of the video, refers to the deliberate actions taken by tech companies to influence users' behavior and decisions. The video script provides examples of how companies use personal data to segment messages and create addictive platforms, which manipulate users into spending more time on their platforms.

💡Screen Time

Screen time is a term used to describe the amount of time spent looking at or interacting with screens, such as smartphones, tablets, and computers. The video highlights the concerning statistics about how much time people spend on their devices, which can lead to a range of negative consequences, including distraction from real-life interactions and a decrease in the quality of personal relationships.

💡Loneliness

Loneliness is the feeling of sadness or distress caused by a lack of companionship or social contact. The video script discusses the paradox that despite being more 'connected' than ever through technology, people are experiencing higher levels of loneliness. This is attributed to the superficial nature of online interactions and the lack of genuine human connection.

💡Digital Products

Digital products refer to any goods or services that are delivered through digital means, such as software, apps, and online services. The video script warns that new ventures are developing software to bring manipulative methods to all digital products, indicating a growing trend of using technology to influence user behavior for profit.

💡Passive Consumption

Passive consumption is the act of passively receiving or engaging with media content without actively participating or creating. The video argues that devices and networks are designed to keep us in a state of passive consumption, which can lead to a loss of creativity and a decrease in the quality of our real-life experiences.

Highlights

A mother is oblivious to her son's attempts to get her attention due to being engrossed with her phone.

The speaker reflects on the impact of technology and screens on our daily lives, questioning our obsession with them.

The average person unlocks their cell phone 150 times a day, indicating a high level of dependency.

The Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University is dedicated to understanding how digital platforms can manipulate user behavior.

The speaker discusses the manipulative tactics used by social media and tech companies to exploit human vulnerabilities.

Examples of manipulation include election interference, fake news, and social division.

The attention economy has led to the creation of the 'attention hack' where tech companies compete for user engagement.

Tech companies use notifications and distractions to keep users on their platforms, maximizing ad revenue.

Former Facebook president expresses regret over developing a platform that exploits human vulnerabilities.

The founder of Netflix admits that their goal is to reduce sleep time to increase viewing, prioritizing profit over health.

Free digital products are scrutinized, questioning what users are paying with if not money.

Social media platforms exploit self-esteem and the importance of aesthetics, leading to a distorted self-image.

The comparison of real life to curated online images can lead to dissatisfaction and disappointment.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of being mindful of who we follow and what we share on social media.

The U.S. Department of Consumer Defense takes action against a dating company for exploiting users' desperation.

Teenagers and even babies are identified as vulnerable targets for tech manipulation, with serious developmental concerns.

The speaker argues that while technology has always been a concern, the current situation with smartphones is unprecedented.

The paradox of hyper-communication leading to increased loneliness is highlighted.

The speaker calls for awareness and resistance against the manipulative practices of tech companies.

A call to action is made to reclaim control over our lives and use technology as a tool for creation and shared experiences.

Transcripts

Translator: Gisela Giardino Reviewer: Sebastian Betti

A while ago, I was in a bar.

There, was a woman at another table with her five-year-old son.

She was completely captured by her cell phone.

Meanwhile, the kid stared at her.

Maybe another kid would have messed up to try to get her attention.

But not this kid.

He waited for a while, he finally stood up,

went behind his mother and began to stroke her hair.

He tried to summon her with caresses for several minutes.

And she never realized what was happening.

A question haunted me:

How many times I might have been

in the same situation without even realizing it?

What is happening to us?

Why do we live obsessed with our screens?

Today we unlock our cell phones 150 times a day.

This is once every 6 minutes during the time we are awake.

I decided to do some research on this and came to a conclusion that struck me.

What is happening to us with technology is not an accident.

Stanford University is located at the heart of Silicon Valley,

the cradle of the world's biggest technology companies.

The Persuasive Technology Lab is based there,

where brilliant researchers work --

in their own words --

to see how to use the websites

and mobile apps we use

to manipulate what we think and what we do.

Trying to persuade others is as old as the world.

But digital devices and the huge volume of personal information

accumulated from our online activity

are creating a new way to manipulate our thoughts and actions

taking advantage of the vulnerabilities of the mind

detected by behavioral economics,

psychology and neuroscience.

Examples abound.

On the social scale, attempts to manipulate elections,

the proliferation of fake news,

the widening of all social gaps.

In the personal orbit, parents who don't see their children,

and conversely,

meetings where everyone

is more concerned about what happens on their screen

than with what happens around them.

A growing difficulty to focus.

This phenomenon began with the initial expectation

that everything on the Internet had to be for free.

A group of companies had to find a way

to earn money without charging users.

First thing they did was to place ads

and start charging advertisers.

Then they started collecting this heap of personal data

to ultra-segment the message they deliver to each of us.

Finally, to increase their profits,

each company needed us to spend more and more time on their platform.

And that was how the attention hack was born.

When the product that companies sell is your attention,

it's a dog-eat-dog race.

Facebook competes against other social media like Twitter,

but also with very different products

like YouTube, Netflix or Fortnite.

Every second you're not there hypnotized

it's time they cannot sell to their advertisers.

That's why they use visual and sound notifications

and all kinds of tricks to distract you from anything you are doing,

even when you are using other platforms.

Not long ago, the former president of Facebook

made public his regrets.

In a presentation he said that he and Mark Zuckerberg

were absolutely aware of being developing a platform

which would exploit vulnerabilities in our minds

to maximize the addictive effect.

But he was not the only one to admit the use of these abusive mechanisms.

Recently, the founder of Netflix

declared that their greatest enemy

is sleep.

His goal is that we sleep less so we spend more time watching series.

Selling products that are not good for us is also not new.

But at least the executives of companies like big tobacco

were on the defensive.

The founder of Netflix overtly tells us

that his company is willing to induce habits

which are totally detrimental to our health

in order to make more money.

To achieve these goals they feed on our naivety.

When we are going to buy a product,

say a pair of shoes, we have some distrust.

We wonder things like, "are they comfortable?"

"Are they good quality shoes?"

"Is this a reasonable price to pay?"

But when the product is free, we lower our guard.

If the product is free we should be much more wary.

Why a large multinational company

would want to incur the huge costs of developing a social network,

a video platform, an email system,

for us to use for free?

Nothing is free in the business world.

If we are not paying with money, what else are we paying with?

An especially sensitive ground for manipulation is self-esteem.

The increasing use of photos and videos as the main language in the networks,

gives an absurd, overblown importance

to aesthetics and physique

over all other dimensions of our being

to the eyes of others and, therefore, to ourselves.

And networks take advantage of that.

Social media takes advantage of the fascination that causes in us

to spy on the lives of others

and make an impact on others with our own image

to keep us endlessly mesmerized.

Moreover, since each of us

shares very little spontaneous content

about the highlights of our day,

conveniently edited to look much better than it was,

when we later ride a bus, cramped and bored

surfing on a social network,

it's inevitable to have the wrong feeling

that we are the only ones who have an ordinary life

more full of obligations and mishaps than laughter and sunsets.

It's inevitable that the comparison against these false ideals

leaves us disappointed with our own lives.

The decision of who we follow and what we show

is key to breaking the effects of this distorted mirror.

While it was always true

that there were some popular people and some others more withdrawn,

somehow this is implied.

Today it's measurable and visible to everyone.

The likes and the number of followers

is the currency in which social acceptance is traded today.

And each action is subject to public quantification,

for the amount of likes it gets.

As a result, we begin to live life

to show it, not to enjoy it.

That is the narcissistic swamp in which social media put us

and which, curiously, we don't want to leave.

The desire to find someone to love and be loved

leaves us in a particularly vulnerable position.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Consumer Defense

sued the world's largest dating company.

Charges are for taking advantage of the despair

of those who are not being able to find a partner,

allowing them to be contacted from false profiles,

then inviting them to pay to get in touch with these non-existent people,

who will never reply their messages back.

Is that really anything goes to retain us as users

and take our money?

Another particularly attractive group

which is an easy target is our teenagers.

Adolescence is the time when manipulations of our self-esteem

find the most fertile ground.

But the problem starts long before that.

Babies have also been discovered as a new consumer target.

YouTube is full of videos

specifically designed to hook them.

Although the recommendation of the World Health Organization

says that babies under two shouldn't spend a second in front of screens,

the reality is quite different.

The average time for two-year-olds today

is 2.5 hours a day.

And a third of babies uses screens from before walking.

At this crucial stage of development of the nervous system and the psyche,

the electronic pacifier is becoming a tempting escape

for parents and it's replacing physical contact,

the use of speech and upbringing games.

Many parents even take pride in their kids' ability

to handle these devices.

They see what their children learn with these videos:

the animals, the colors,

but they don't see the lessons and experiences lost.

Several scientific studies are already beginning to show

the negative consequences of this change

in areas such as language acquisition,

attention span and socio-emotional development.

The biggest risk for our children

is not the early use of screens,

but adults exceedingly slipping away.

(Applause)

In the face of this, some people say:

"After all, it's always the same.

In the 40's the villain was the radio, in the 60's, television,

in the 80's, video games, and now is this."

For Socrates, the villain was writing.

There is always something the elders demonize simply because it's new.

But this time is different.

Because, while we keep calling

this ultra-light supercomputer that each of us carries a "cell phone",

this device is everything.

It's indeed a cell phone, but it's also a camera,

a TV, a GPS, a game console, a camcorder,

an Internet browser, a flashlight, an alarm clock,

a calculator, a stereo...

and many more things.

Not only it is everything.

It's with us everywhere and at all times

offering the promise of an unlimited flow of content

capable of filling the void at every moment of our life.

Yet, in this era of hyper communication,

studies show that the number of people who feel lonely

was never as high as it is today.

There is no worse loneliness than loneliness surrounded by people.

And all this is going to get worse.

So far only a handful of companies put these mechanisms into practice.

But new ventures are developing software

to bring these manipulative methods to all digital products.

The use of manipulation and the hacking of our attention

have just began.

What do we do?

Do we throw away our cell phones and delete our social media profiles?

No, it's not necessary to go that far.

The advantages of connected life

are too great to give up.

But we are in an unequal battle between very sophisticated companies

and users that act with naivety.

We signed a contract written by the other party

without even being able to read or know

what the hell we are signing.

To even things out,

we need to understand how these mechanisms work

in order to defend ourselves from manipulation.

If we asked ourselves how each of these companies makes money,

it'd be easier to imagine what kind of behavior

they want to induce in us

and what kind of information they may be looking for.

For example, the next time you use a dating app,

keep in mind that the business of these companies

is that you search, not find.

Devices and networks keep us absorbed,

distracted, impatient and focused on passive consumption.

But it doesn't have to be like that.

It's time to leave naivety behind and fight back.

We can reclaim the control of our lives

to take advantage of the benefits of technology

without being eaten up by it.

To take advantage of the supercomputer we carry with us

to create,

not just to consume.

To use it to live shared experiences

instead of being locked upon our own screen.

In short, the challenge is to put platforms and devices

at the service of the life we want to live,

not at the life that others need us to live.

(Applause)