Watch this when
The Social Dilemma
If you've ever opened your phone to check one thing and lost an hour, it's not just you. It was built that way.
Who it's for
Hearing former tech insiders explain engagement-driven design can externalise some of the blame people put on themselves for compulsive scrolling: the pull is partly engineered, which reduces shame and opens room for deliberate change.
Restless→Clear-Headed
Feelings it meets
What it is
Jeff Orlowski's 2020 Netflix docudrama examines how social media platforms use persuasive design, data collection and algorithmic prediction to keep users engaged and shape their behaviour.
Where to find it
Netflix original. Streaming availability rotates; check JustWatch.
Before you start
Heads up: Discussion of teen self-harm and suicide.
Age: Not verified (suggested 13+)
Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial.Marcus Aurelius, The Thoughts of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Book 2 (tr. George Long)
