IB English B Communication, Media & Technology Notes

Solution

Dear Sofia,

Moving away has made me realise how much my family depends on technology to stay close. We have a group chat where my parents send photos of dinner, my brother posts silly memes, and my grandmother adds voice messages. It is not the same as being at the table with them, but it keeps me included in small, daily moments.

The strange part is how much this changes my behaviour. I used to call home once a week, but now I feel pressure to check messages constantly. If I do not reply quickly, my mother asks if something is wrong. Technology makes us closer, but it also means I never fully switch off.

Still, I cannot deny its value. Last Sunday, my family video-called me during my cousin’s birthday party. They placed the laptop at the table so I could sing along. I felt part of the celebration even from thousands of kilometres away. Without that call, I would have missed it completely.

That is what I have learned. Social media and video calls are not just tools. They shape how families express care and how we manage distance. They make home portable, even if it sometimes feels heavy to carry around in my pocket.

Write soon,
Selena

Solution

Film Review: The Social Dilemma

When my teacher recommended The Social Dilemma for our media unit, I expected another slow documentary. Instead, I got a film that made me put down my phone for the first time in weeks. The documentary blends expert interviews with short drama scenes that show how algorithms shape the daily lives of teenagers. It is not just informative, it is unsettling.

The strongest part of the film is its ability to turn something abstract, like “data mining,” into situations we all recognise. In one scene, a teenage boy promises to stay off his phone for a week. Within hours, he is bombarded by notifications designed to drag him back online. Watching him struggle felt uncomfortably close to my own habits: the quick check before bed that becomes half an hour, the pull to reply instantly even during homework.

The interviews with former employees of Google, Facebook, and Twitter give the documentary weight. These are people who helped build the systems and now regret how they are used. One expert explains that platforms are not free. We pay with attention, and attention is the most valuable currency in the digital age. That line has stayed with me, because it makes you think about how carefully designed these platforms are to keep us hooked.

Another strength is how the film balances statistics with human stories. Hearing that teenagers’ screen time has doubled in the past decade is striking, but it is the personal stories of anxiety, comparison, and online pressure that really resonate. The film makes you see the numbers through faces and voices that could belong to your classmates.

Not everything in the film works perfectly. Some of the dramatic sequences feel exaggerated, almost like a public service ad. The acting sometimes distracts from the message, especially when it tries too hard to show a “typical” family. Yet even these less convincing parts lead to discussion. After watching, my friends debated whether we should delete Instagram altogether or simply learn to manage it better. That kind of conversation is part of the film’s success.

What makes The Social Dilemma powerful is its relevance. It does not present technology as purely good or purely bad. Instead, it shows how design choices influence behaviour and how much of that influence is invisible. For students like us, who grew up online, the film feels less like a warning and more like a mirror.

I would recommend The Social Dilemma to anyone who has ever wondered why they check their phone so often. It may not make you quit social media, but it will definitely make you think more carefully about who controls your screen time. And that, for a documentary, is a big achievement.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars