Whereas most technology can be defined as "the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes" digital technology is different - rather than direct tangible work digital technology works undercover on information and data and as a secret service its effects are subtle and powerful in shaping, influencing and even potentially controlling our behaviour .. after all "information is power" and it can be power over us.
Like a secret service digital technology has infiltrated our lives ever so slowly over a long time ... grooming us with little toys that make us feel good for a while but like a drug addict we become habituated and we always want more ... we become dependent, we become addicted - our little toys spy on us and we become owned.
In the lawless Wild Wild Web digital technology has groomed and pimped us into modern slavery and farmed us out for free range milking and fleecing under the constant surveillance of voluntary smartphone tagging and tracking.
Enjoy it while you can - our free range days may be numbered. The fossil fuels of the industrial revolution used the remains of plants and animals from millions of years ago but the information revolution needs freshly squeezed "data oil" on scale from live subjects in their natural habitat. There is no better way to do this than to entice and herd us into smart city factory farms where our every move can be tracked without smartphone tagging and our data oil more effectively and efficiently pressed and extracted.
Digital technology is modifying and changing our behaviour and mental health. Like animals in a bad zoo our digital environment is making us behave unnaturally and unhealthily .. we are increasingly anxious and depressed and engaging in obsessive compulsive ritualistic behaviour with our digital technologies.
Where will all this end ... can we ever be free again?
No comments:
Post a Comment