After reading Kirn's article, "If You're Not Paranoid, You're Crazy" Something that stood out to me was Kirn's sudden realization about the possibility that us younger generations have adapted, and sort of evolved into a different breed that is fine with this lack of privacy. In it he states that, "perhaps the rush toward self-disclosure precipitated by social media was a preemptive defense against intruders: What’s freely given can’t be stolen." To which Kirn confesses is uncomfortable to him because he is "too old to embrace this nakedness." And it was this description of nakedness that reminded me of a spoken word poem titled "Resentment" by Levi the poet, and he has a powerful line where he confesses: But this all used to be for nothing and no one, and now I shout transparency, but I miss every one of my secrets. but as for me: for every time I give my testimony to a crowd, I'll lie awake at night and wonder about whether or not I've told the truth." And it was this same poem that made me think of Bo Burnham's Make Happy Monologue where he brings about the point that our attachment to social media was cultivated as an answer for our generation's need for to perform and be heard, the satisfaction we get from watching our lives, and the merging of audience and performers with social media (attached below). Which both of these also support Kirn's point when he talks about the firestone workers acting a certain way due to them being monitored. Which is why, I think Kirn's explanation is valid in the way he talks about how we rushed to social media and for what reasons. Some did it out of the desire to perform and express themselves, others, such as people with mental illness, trauma, the LGBT community, or even feminists have used it as a way to dispel the negative stigmas and the shame, and necessity to conceal their true identities and share their stories. However, as we saw in the show, and in the two examples it's come the the point that it is now more of an addiction and a crippling responsibility rather than a way to connect. This is because its uses and purposes, like Kirk points out in his article, aren't definitive. Which is what we see happen in Black Mirror, something that was developed to supply one demand but can also serve other purposes. As Kirn explains, "Paranoia is an infernal affliction, difficult to arrest once it takes hold," and it is the same thing for addictions and obsessions. If given certain tools like cellphones and Grains, people can become slaves to their devices at which point, they begin to develop a love hate relationship with whatever it is to the extent that they feel disadvantaged without it. So much so that it becomes something they need, use, and rely on to get by their daily lives and become dependent upon to the point that they are willing to sacrifice their privacy in return.
First off, I want to say that I liked the way that you incorporated other styles of writing to support your arguments. I especially liked the line from the monologue stating that we get enjoyment from watching our lives which perfectly ties to Black Mirror. The people in the film sat around showing each other their own private movements which also emphasized the normalcy of voluntary invasion of privacy. The invasion was so accepted that the main character found it difficult to tell everyone that he did not want to show them his embarrassing presentation after all privacy did not really exist in their society. However, their comfort with storing their precious or dirty moments on a device that came with all sorts of other functions including airport security broadcasting illustrates their consistent belief of "privacy" because they felt that they were in control of what they showed for everyone to see. Just as today, we have likely to post some things on social media under the impression of "oh, I will just delete it", never considering who has seen it, shared it or even downloaded the post before you ever had the chance to remove the posts. Thus the more "in control" we feel the more likely we are to expose ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the part where you said, "...people can become slaves to their devices at which point, they begin to develop a love hate relationship with whatever it is to the extent that they feel disadvantaged without it." I have felt this way myself so many times. I'll look at my social media accounts and look at how long it's been since I've posted anything and I'll find myself feeling like I need to share something new, just to stay relevant. Or if I'm being really honest, I want to confirm how many people are interested in my life by seeing how many likes I can get on a post. So it's almost like I'm embarrassed not to over share my life. And when and why did it become such a big deal for people to post their relationships statuses online? It's become such a big deal that I have had friends get upset with their boyfriends because it seems "shady". The lengths we all go to in order to make our lives seem worthy of others marveling on their phones before they're going to sleep, or to avoid an awkward conversation is ridiculous. But I'm not necessarily saying that it's just that, because it's also opened up a whole world where people can see other people's way of life for the better. Although, I do agree that a hefty bit of it is tied to our egos.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job at connecting what we read and watched to pop culture and how we as young adults feel about technology and social media. I have always critiqued social media and our addictions to it because I feel like it makes us not be as present in our lives. Instead, people are trying so hard to take the perfect picture or write the perfect post and are not experiencing the moments that they are having that they will never have again. The Grain, is interesting because it almost makes you have a way to re-experience moments you might have missed, so it is a question of if it will make you an addict to it or able to live more freely.
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