Network Effect and Social Media / The Social Dilemma
The entire concept of Social Media and users posting on different apps grasps the idea of Network Effects very directly. Within the past few years and especially during quarantine, the use of Social Media apps such as Instagram, Tik Tok, and Snapchat have skyrocketed due to the amount of time people spend on their phones. However, there are some platforms that are all the more profitable and have a more positive Network effect. For example, Twitters ability to share information within not only who you follow but the close friends of some of your peers results in more interaction with your peers within a network.
What I find interesting is that fact that these positive Network effects benefit the economy greatly and bring people happiness in a way. But, it might make sense that these apps have gained too much power and control around the population. In the Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma, there is an argument regarding the addiction forming algorithms that many of these extremely wealthy companies have developed. In the words of journalist Belinda Barnet, “how platforms harvest personal data to target users with ads – and have so far gone largely unregulated.” Along with the ability for these apps to obtain so much data about each individual, there becomes a need to stress the importance of security.
https://theconversation.com/netflixs-the-social-dilemma-highlights-the-problem-with-social-media-but-whats-the-solution-147351