The film explores the impact of social media on society and how our brains are being transformed by the little device we keep glued to the palms of our hands.

And while civil war might have seemed an exaggeration a few years ago, you only need look at the streets of America today to see how close to reality that prospect is becoming.

Through new technology and algorithms designed to grab as much of our attention as possible, the social media giants are driving us into hyper-partisan tribes.

They try to read our minds and find our weaknesses, then feed us with (mis)information to reinforce our prejudices.

Everything is black or white, with no shades of grey in between.

Gone is the objective truth, something that had little hope in a world where it’s easy to find your own facts.

“Fake news spreads six times faster on Twitter than actual news,” says Tristan Harris, a former Google employee who has become an advocate for responsible technology, having seen first hand the tricks used to suck users in.

Suddenly people can exist in a world where the only views they see are the ones they agree with. When you exist in such a bubble, an idea that runs counter to it becomes a threat that must instantly be shut down.

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There is no longer a contest of ideas, just a reinforcement of prejudices and an attempt to cancel anything or anyone that doesn’t conform.

Each side, left and right if you can still call it that, see the ills this phenomenon is inflicting on the other, but fails to recognise it in itself.

The left points to the rise of Trump and Brexit but fails to see the hyper-partisan anarchy of groups like Extinction Rebellion.

The right can see the left’s march towards Marxism, but ignores the frightening rise of far-right extremists.

The rise of social media and its associated manipulation of information is eroding political systems across the globe.

It’s been worst in countries like Myanmar where Facebook enabled the spread of vicious misinformation against Rohingya Muslim that saw them targeted as part of a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign.

But it’s also affecting Western democracies.

We’ve seen that play out in the US, but there are also signs of it creeping in here.

Social media – Facebook in particular – has allowed politicians to communicate directly with their constituents.

They can now bypass old media, but in doing so the checks and balances that are an important part of a democracy are pushed to the side.

Northern Territory politicians are using an increasing amount of your money to get their unfiltered message across.

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Gunner Government’s refusal to open its books goes against its own promise

When he was opposition leader in early 2016, Michael Gunner rightly criticised then chief minister Adam Giles over his decision to spend $140,000 of taxpayers’ (your) money on a social media officer.

At the time, Mr Gunner described the position as “extravagant”.

“Michael Gunner does his own social media, not a political staffer,” one of his political staffers said on his behalf at the time.

It’s fair to say this is no longer the case.

In fact under Mr Gunner’s leadership, the extravagant social media team has become slightly more extravagant, following ministers to every press conference and posting the videos on Facebook, but only once the bad bits have been edited out.

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The CLP can hardly complain about this situation.

When asked about Mr Giles’ new position in 2016, his chief-of-staff Tim Baldwin said:

“More and more Territorians want to get their information about politics from online sources as the use of social media continues to grow.”

This might be true.

But it’s happening at the expense of scrutiny and truth.

LIMITED TIME: Amazing NT News subscription offer: Read everything for $1

Today, some people still complain about the small cost of accessing this newspaper online.

They can usually get their news for free, delivered straight to their Facebook feed.

But it’s worth considering whether it’s really “news” and what it’s actually costing.