Social media has fundamentally changed the way we live our lives. It has impacted how we get our news, how we communicate with one another and touched many other aspects of everyday life. And, as the new film, The Social Dilemma, clearly shows, this rise in usage does not come without its own consequences. Some of these consequences are very unexpected but others, more troublingly, are entirely planned.

On November 20, Jeff Seibert '04, Founder of Digits and former Senior Director of Product at Twitter - who is featured in the film, joined Upper School students, teachers, alumni, and parents for a conversation about making the movie, the issues at the heart of it, and possible long-term solutions. Jeff answered questions about participating in a potentially contentious project, the technical side of how social media sites capture your data, the downside of an ad-supported business model, the dangers of seeing only one side of an issue, and more. 

Watch a video of the conversation here.

If you want to learn more about the subject and issues at-hand:

• Click here to read Jeff's in-depth articulation of the issues that the film brings to light on Medium.com.
• Click here to learn more about The Center for Humane Technology. Their podcast, Your Undivided Attention, can be found here.
• Click here to learn more about The Social Institute, which develops tools to help students navigate social media and technology.