The Social Dilemma

"The Social Dilemma" (2020) is a documentary you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Jeff Orlowski. Former engineers and designers from Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest sit on camera and explain, piece by piece, how the attention economy was built — and what it costs us.

Tristan Harris, Aza Raskin, Tim Kendall, and others describe the mechanics from the inside: recommendation algorithms aren't passive, they are precision tools designed to maximize time on screen at any psychological expense. Woven through the interviews is a scripted dramatization — a teenage boy sliding into an algorithmic rabbit hole of extremist content while his family watches, helpless. The two threads keep cutting between each other until the line between documentary and drama disappears on purpose.

Released on Netflix in 2020, the film sparked a long debate about tech regulation and digital well-being. Stream "The Social Dilemma" online on iFILM and see how the feed is engineered to keep you scrolling.