Black Mirrors Ep. 2

This episode of Black Mirrors made me think a lot. The premise of the episode involved something that they called a grain. This is a chip that is implanted into your brain that allows you to record every single one of your memories and watch them at any time. This also gives you the capability to share your memories with others.

The idea of a grain seemed like a good idea to me at first. The chip would help you remember details, settle disputes, and allow you to watch your happiest moments. In reality, the chip is a curse. The episode displayed many instances involving the chip that ended poorly. First, it allows people to over-analyze anything that happens to them by watching it over and over again. This is evident when one of the main characters goes on a job interview and becomes obsessed with the way that the employer speaks to him. Another thing that the chip does is keep our memories exactly as they are. Our brain has the power to alter our memories. This initially seems like a bad thing, however, some memories are too painful to relive so our brain changes them because we cannot handle them as they are. If we had the power to relive these horrible memories, it would change everything. Another aspect of the grain is that other people can watch your memories. This is the worst part. Some memories are yours and only yours. When other people have the power to see what you saw, you can run into problems and people can no longer have secrets. I believe that everyone is allowed to keep secrets.

After watching the presidential debate tonight, I can only imagine if the candidates had a grain and people had access to their memories. It would be good in one aspect because the public would know the truth. At the same time, everyone has memories and decisions they are not proud of. The grain would scare voters because they would be able to see these poor decisions and memories.

Technological Determinism

In Chapter Two of Baym's "Personal Connections in the Digital Age," she talks mainly about the technological theory called technological determinism. This is the idea that technology enters society as an active force of change and we cannot resist it. Through this theory, technology changes us. 

Baym goes over the idea that technology has the ultimate power to change who we are as humans and our society as a whole. She references the idea that technology is making us stupid. This, however, is nothing new. Socrates claimed that introducing the alphabet would make society stupid. In a way, he was right. Since the alphabet has come into play, humans no longer buy into things unless they are written down. Spoken word has lost credibility and our memories have even faded since we no longer rely on them to remember the things we can write down instead. In much the same way, Nick Carr believes that Google has made him stupid. Now that he has the power to look something up and find the result immediately, his attention span has gotten noticeably worse. He claims that he has a hard time reading for long periods of time before he must change what he is doing in the fear of getting bored. 

I do not think that the problem is about technology changing us; I believe it is about how much we rely on the new technology. I believe that humans can resist a new form of technology by not immediately shifting their total reliance to it. This is evident in the alphabet example. If society accepted the new technology of the alphabet and used it in moderation, the technology would not have altered society so much. Instead, society took the alphabet and put all reliance on it. This reliance is what changed society. The same goes for Nick Carr and most of the world that have access to the internet. If our smart phones and the internet were used in moderation, our society might still be able to read for long periods of time or hold an argument without looking up the answer. Society cannot resist the temptation of technology, but worst of all; we cannot resist the temptation of reliance. 

Love Over the Wires

The chapter, "Love Over the Wires," explains a story about a man and woman from different cities that fall in love using the telegraph as their form of communication. In the time of the telegraph, it was unheard of that people would have a long distance relationship. However, now, falling in love without ever seeing eachother has become more and more common.

Meeting a significant other online is becoming one of the main ways that people meet their spouse. This raises the point of what an actual relationship entails. Do people need to have a physical interaction to fall in love?  On one hand, a physical relationship allows people to express emotions real time and a physical way. On the other hand, meeting a person online could allow for an even more meaningful relationship. Without any physical aspect of the relationship, people are able to focus on getting to know eachother on an even deeper level. One could make the argument that more meaningful relationships are built when the couple does not see one another because they are only able to connect on an emotional level. This allows relationship without the distraction of sexuality.

Personal Connections in the Digital Age

In Personal Connections in the Digital Age, Baym brings up many important points about how media is affecting our personal relationships. One of the most important points she brings up, in my opinion is about how media changes humans.

Social media is so evident in our culture and society, it has been able to change the way that people think. It puts instant gratification at our fingertips and throws away the idea of working through a problem or arguing face-to-face to find an answer. The new media takes away our focus and gives us a constant stream of mass information. Our brain doesn't know how to take it all in so it does it in chunks, 140 characters at a time (in the case of Twitter). This, however, is not a new phenomenon. Every time there is a new type of technology, it has changed the way that humans think. Even in the time of Socrates. He warned of the dangers of introducing the alphabet into society. Socrates claimed it would, "create forgetfulness in learners' souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves" (25). This theory has proved to be true. Society trusts written records above all else. Many people now need lists just to get through their day. On the other hand, the alphabet and social media, has allowed humans to expand their capabilities in a way that would not be possible otherwise. For example, this blog post would not be possible without the alphabet and social media. They both give humans the power to share information. Society needs to find a balance when it comes to social media. Humans can harness its power and use it for good, but it cannot be overused or else it is detrimental to our brain. As in most cases, the key to successful technology use is moderation.

The Question Concerning Technology

In, “The Question Concerning Technology,” Heidegger analyses the relationship that people have with technology. He claims that he finally has found what technology is. Heidegger describes two definitions of technology that are able to fit together. One definition states that technology is a means to an end while the other claims that technology is a human activity.

In regard to the first definition, Heidegger believes that technology is used as an instrument for humans. He says, “Technology itself is a contrivance, or, in Latin, an instrumentum” (2). He claims that technology is just machinery that is a resource to humans. When something is made using a type of technology, tools, or equipment, the item that is made or the social need that is served belongs to the technology that created it. A modern example of this is Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word is software that I am currently using to type the draft of this blog post. I am using this technology as a means to the end result of creating a short essay. In this case, technology is a means for an end. However, this definition can be dangerous for humanity. This definition restricts human understanding of technology. Seeing technology as simply a means for an end could lead man to use technology as a resource to fuel his domination over nature. This would eventually lead to mans domination of man. Heidegger does not want his audience to see technology as a way to making, but as a method of revealing. He thinks that technology should be used to “reveal” the truth. For example, a piece of clay has the potential to become a pot. Through molding, the sculptor “reveals” the pot from the clay just as a tree reveals itself from a seed.

 The second definition revolves around the idea of technology as a human activity. When we use technology, we belong to that technology. Facebook for example is a modern technology that was not around during Heidegger’s time. His second definition claims that when a person is using Facebook that person belongs to the activity of using Facebook similar to the way that the essay I am writing belongs to Microsoft Word because it is helping me create it. The second definition is very true today because when people are absorbed in social media and other media outlets, it is difficult for them to stop. This creates a society where we belong to social media. 

Black Mirrors Ep. 1

In the first episode of Black Mirrors, social media and technology play a major role. The episode begins with a video message from a beloved Princess. She has been kidnapped and is being held hostage. In the video, she says that she will be killed unless Prime Minister Michael Callow has sex with a pig on live television. The kidnappers give detailed instructions and a deadline to make it extremely difficult for the act for be forged. At first, Callow wants to keep the video quiet, however the video is already viral on YouTube at this point. This is an example of how anything posted on social media or the internet is permanent in a way. Even if the Prime Minister is able to take down this video from the website, many people have already seen the video, re-posted it, and commented on it. This makes the video permanent in the minds of the people that watch it and permanent on the computers of the people that downloaded it. Technology also plays a large role in the way that the perpetrator made his demands. The kidnapper knew about video technology because his demand was very specific. He demanded that the sex tape use natural light and a roving camera. This made it impossible to create a special effect of the Prime Minister having sex with a pig. Another use of technology that affected the situation involved the news reporter. In order to get more information, she sent naked photos to a man who worked for the Prime Minister. She was able to get more information out of the man in exchange for the photos.

Technology and social media are used very poorly in the episode. The use of technology creates a dystopian society. The characters also fuel this dystopia. The kidnappers gave specific instructions to the Prime Minister telling him not to use any visual trickery. The Prime Minister’s team tried to use special effects anyways and in turn, the Princess had her finger cut off. If they would have followed his specific instructions, the Princess would have kept all of her fingers. If technology was used in a different way, they could have created a utopian society. In the episode, technology is essentially used to bring people together against the Prime Minister and broadcast a dystopian message. This same technology could be used to unite the citizens in support of a good cause.