We've let tech define us. Now it's out of control
At the Guardian, Douglas Rushkoff says our technology is now an entire environment. We live there. We’ve spent the decade letting our tech define us. It’s out of control
He says:
“We may come to remember this decade as the one when human beings finally realized we are up against something. We’re just not quite sure what it is.
“More of us have come to understand that our digital technologies are not always bringing out our best natures. People woke up to the fact that our digital platforms are being coded by people who don’t have our best interests at heart. This is the decade when, finally, the “tech backlash” began.
“But it’s a little late.”
It is a long essay and not easy reading, especially at a time of year when most New Zealanders and Australians have switched off their work brains.
Yet, if you have the time, it is worth reading it all.
Rushkoff knows his stuff and offers some powerful insights. In the essay he runs through the key issues.
Issues are not new
To cut it short, he starts out by saying surveillance capitalism and manipulation are not new. They have long been part our online activity and in our apps for ages. It’s being going on for 20 years now.
He says while these ideas are getting all the attention today, things have moved on. Surveillance capitalism and manipulation may no longer be relevant concerns.
Rushkoff argues we now spend most of how waking hours bathing in the waters of Facebook, Twitter, Apple and Google. In other words: “We have been shaped into who the data says we are”.
Join the party
Until now, the common response has been about joining in. There is pressure for young people to learn to code. I’m all for motivated, interested youngsters learning to code, it remains a good career choice.
We don’t have enough people tackling these issues from a social science or art point of view. (Rushkoff talks about liberal arts).
Writers, journalists, movie makers, artists and others have an important role to play. We can communicate and understanding what is going on from a non-engineering or financial perspective.
It’s a complex, deep essay. You may find it too much to absorb in a single reading. I’ve come back to it a few times.
A disappointing omission is that Rushkoff fails to make a connection between this and evidence that our digital lives make us less happy.
Take back control
One thing we can do to mitigate the problems is to take back control of our online experience. If you like to spend less time bathing in what is, if not a toxic soup, certainly something less than ideal.
How to fight back? First, do all the obvious hygiene things. Quit Facebook, choose apps and operating systems where there is room for privacy. Use alternatives to Google.
Embrace openness in all its aspects, not only Open Source software. Be wary of products like Android which are surveillance tools with a little usefulness thrown in.
Be especially wary of ‘free’ services. The price you pay may be far higher than you think.
You don’t have to learn to code. Indeed, unless you have an aptitude or an urge to do so, I recommend you don’t. People like you can read more printed books instead. But when you do, write and talk about your experiences and ideas.
Declare independence
Try to develop an independent online presence. One that isn’t part of a commercial data collection operation.
Learn how to use WordPress. Write a blog instead of posting articles on Facebook or Linkedin. Share things. Investigated ideas like the IndieWeb or Microblogging, both are refreshing. Build links with humans, not corporations or bots.
Rushkoff’s optimistic finishing points echo those broad ideas, even he dresses them in different language. The key here is to seize back as much control as you can.
You’ll be happier.