Social media platforms have became an integral part of our lives. Despite being aware of its negative effects, it's quite impossible to keep ourselves away from it for a long time. Here is a list of five films or series that might alarm you about the potential dangers of the online world.
The Social Dilemma (Netflix)
'The Social Dilemma' can be described as an ‘eyeopener’ yet a ‘kind of scary’ docudrama film, that gives a clear picture of the negative side of the online world and how it is slowly and unknowingly conquering the real world. The film includes talks by several former employees of prominent social media platforms and mental health experts. They share an insight into the different algorithms and techniques being used by these firms to know and manipulate their users as well as maximize their addiction to these platforms.
'The Social Dilemma', which features the interviews of Tim Kendall, the former director of monetization in Facebook, and Jeff Seibert, former head of product at Twitter, has been directed by Jeff Orlowski.
Not Okay (Hotstar)
'Not Okay' comes with a disclaimer that the viewers are going to hate its protagonist, Danni Sanders, ‘every single second of the film’. True to its words, there would not be a moment that one would feel sorry for Danni, a youngster who desperately fakes being a deadly terrorist attack survivor in Paris due to her fear of being missed out or ignored in the real world. Zoey Deutch as Danni Sanders portrays all the vulnerabilities of today’s youngsters who look out for unnecessary validations on social media platforms as well as in the real world.
In due course, the same online world, which celebrated her ‘survival’ story, revolts against her following the revelation of her truth by a colleague.
Searching (Netflix)
In the wake of a slow investigation into his teenage daughter Marggot’s missing case, David Kim, played by John Cho, is frantically searching for leads on her social media accounts. Eventually, David finds out several shocking revelations about his daughter as well as his own family. The thriller, directed by Aneesh Chaganty, unfolds an image of cybercrimes and how one, especially youngsters, can be easily manipulated in the virtual world. Most of the scenes in ‘Searching’ are set on social media, mobile and computer screens.
Fingertip (Season 2) (Zee5)
Psychologist Shruthi, played by national-award winner Aparna Balamurali, is striving to create awareness of the dangers behind the cyber world. Meanwhile, the crime-drama thriller series evolves depicting many cyberbullying incidents where both men and women are victims. 'Fingertip' (Season 2) also narrates how these social media platforms are being used for fraudulent activities including thefts, sexual exploitation, money laundering and even for defaming an individual’s image for someone’s gains. On the whole, Regina Cassandra as actress Priya and Vinoth Kishan as Venkat, who are suffering from body image issues, have stolen the show. Srinivasan Shivakar has directed this Tamil series that also features Prasanna and Sharath Ravi.
The Hater (Netflix)
This Polish thriller portrays the life of Tomasz Giemza, an ambitious youngster, who is using social media platforms for personal gains as well as smear campaigns. Tomasz, who lives with a fear of being looked down and losing the girl he loves, tries all ways to gain her and her family’s attention. 'The Hater' also details the aspects of giving rise to online hatred, fake news and stalking through the virtual world. In the end, Tomasz discovers the aftermath of his actions but it would be too late for a rectification
