The Netflix film, The Social Dilemma, should be obligatory viewing for every parent. Innocently, perhaps, most of us allow our children to indulge in social media in order to keep contact with friends. The truth behind these networks is far more sinister. Firstly, the sites are addictive, to quote Dr Anna Lembke, at Stanford University “Social Media is a drug”. Secondly, all browsing history is tracked and every action is monitored and, according to Tristan Harris, former design Ethicist at Google, “if you are not paying for a product, you are the product”. So your data is being sold to 3rd parties to target content to keep a child online and connected and bring in their friends. This is reiterated by Justin Rosenstein, former Engineering Lead at Facebook, “our attention is the product sold to advertisers”. What these actions result in, as Prof Jonathan Haidt of NYU Stern pointed out, is “a whole generation is more anxious, more fragile, more depressed”. The potential for psychological damage and manipulation for young children is massive. We, as adults, need to manage this exposure. Escudo Web software can do this. The Blabloo and Geniora smartphones allow a parent to manage this, and stop addiction.
