Of course, I know that it's Mr. Fargo's way of trying to make my banking experience pleasant and to let me know that I'm a person and not just a number. And I also know that the bank has more information about me than the government but somehow, I couldn't shake the feeling that my privacy has been invaded and visions of Big Brother swam through my head. Orwell was right, just a half-century too soon.
What's next? "Mr. Charleston, your account is $0.34 from being overdrawn. Please make a deposit (cash) or you are in danger of being charged a $38.13 overdraft fee, $2.00 processing fee, and 29.9% interest. We hope you enjoy your Wells Fargo banking experience." I'm already receiving obnoxious texts from AT&T reminding me that my account is about to be charged $42 for my phone and to please be sure there is enough cash to cover it.
The troubling thing is, this whole rush to "personalize" your e-experience has become the biggest driver of the dumbing-down of America. Anywhere you go on the internet you are bombarded with ads from web sites you have recently visited, inane trash-TV proliferates, and organizations like Fox News learned long ago that it is far more profitable to pay raving lunatics like Glen Beck a million bucks to say what people want to hear than to operate a legitimate news organization.
The net result is, in this Information Age, where we have access to more knowledge and information than anyone, anytime in history, we are being enclosed by fewer and fewer choices and the focus has become so narrow and self-centered that people lead encapsulated lives to the point of being unaware and unconcerned about what happens outside of their personal little media bubbles.
It's a trap difficult to escape and particularly so for our youth, who have become so addicted that some believe carrying a gun to school and killing people is just another reality game.
I don't know the answer, but I fear for the future.
I like the graphic, i keep saying, as often as i think anyone might listen, that Australia's current extreme right wing government got to be there through the endemic greed and selfishness of Australians
ReplyDeleteSame here Kylie. It was an Aussie, Rupert Murdoch, that is primarily responsible for the reprehensible state of the media today. World enemy #1.
Deletelet me just say that he renounced his citizenship here so i am disowning him!
Deleteoh i def fear the future...and what convenience will drive our lives...and what that will mean for us.....
ReplyDeleteYou have said it so succinctly, I'm in total agreement
ReplyDeleteYou don't need to fear the future...it is already here. We've been fucked and unkissed for some time now.
ReplyDeleteWhile media consumption is a concern with it becoming more and more tailor made, I think you still have to believe in the desire for truth by the human spirit.
ReplyDeleteThe great thing about the internet is, if you want it, it is there.
But you still have to apply some critical thinking skills to separate the truth from the spin.
Perhaps, that is the answer. Teach our children to critically think why things are the way they are.
How do we make sure people think this way instead of just listening to what they want to hear (e.g. Fox News)? I think it begins with education and opening up a dialogue of logic. I bet the bulk of the people who listen to Fox News are from an older generation. Education wasn't as important back then. For example, my grandfather only went to the 6th grade...which was normal at the time and place.
This might sound corny, but I believe education (but not necessarily the school system) is the key to our future.
Education has been the accepted answer for many decades now but it seems to be gaining no traction as fact. In your grandfather's time, a six grader could read, write and do business math. Today, the first two years of college are devoted to remedial education. I'm beginning to believe that we really are devolving as one thing is perfectly clear, people are not created equal. For whatever reason, a vast number of people come out of the womb stone stupid and appear to be totally incapable of independent thought.
DeleteThanks for stopping by Mark.
Any age brings with it something new that annoys the older generation.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I’m concerned your beef is justified and only too true; the future is scary. But young people see things differently, they know nothing else and for them it’s no big deal that privacy has all but disappeared.
As much as anything else, it's the herd instinct, or lemming instinct, that troubles me.
DeleteIt seems to get crazier and crazier as time goes on. Try filling out an online job application (sending in a resume, even via email, isn't good enough any more) - and then they want your social security number. How about I give it to you when you hire me? Nope, won't do - the application cannot be submitted without it. I tried typing in 123-45-6789 one time, just to fill the field. The automated response told me, sorry, loser, this number has already been used.
ReplyDelete(Well, it didn't say "loser")
Privacy does not exist any more...
I can do without all the personalization and I hate getting ads from a site just because I visited it.
ReplyDeleteWe are so well connected that we are more alone than ever.
ReplyDeleteI agree, this is all too Big Brother-ish and Kafkaesque. But like Friko said, it's all subjective. Younger people don't see anything wrong with it, and they probably wonder how we survived the Dark Ages before ATMs and Facebook.
ReplyDelete