My Feed

My feed would include recommendations for the latest video game consoles and technology. It would also give me helpful information on places to eat because I am always hungry. I really hope my feed could also show me pictures for things about tigers because tigers are really awesome. The last thing it would have, would be a constant stream of the newest dance and electronic music because I love that kind of music.

Resisting the Feed pt.2

The Feed is hooked into all of your emotions. It knows what you want before you know even what you want. It provides what ever you could possibly want, the only catch is that if the feed breaks, so do you. The Feed is designed to network you in with almost anyone you want, but it leaves people almost like empty shells. Most of them don't know how to act around other people, or have a full conversation.

The Feed takes away from social interaction with other people as we see in the story. They try to chat with people, even when they don't have a feed. School is not really a thing either because the kids can just look up what ever they need to on the feed. The only reason they go to school is to learn more about using the feed. 

Now some people may say that the Feed is helpful to their lives, and I would agree with them, but only to an extent. The feed is helpful when looking something up, ordering something, or talking to old relatives, but that's where I draw the line. After those simple things, the feed starts to take over other parts of our lives that we should be in control of. I would not like a machine in my head constantly telling me what it thinks I may want or need. The Feed should never be part of daily lives.

The argument people could make against this is what about the technology we have today? Our phones and computers, the search engines and websites we visit, are being tailored to provide ads and other popups specifically targeted at things we may like. Facebook is removing posts that may not suit our opinions, and Amazon may include things in our search list that might correspond to recent searches. This is all true, but the difference between this and the feed, is that it can be turned off. Our phones and computers can be shut down, and they are not connected to our brains in anyway. As good as the Feed sounds, it should never happen.

1984's Flow of Information

Throughout 1984, we see that there is no privacy what so ever, and that the collection and monitoring of the citizens is totally unregulated. There is nothing stopping their government from watching whatever they want, and taking what ever knowledge they want. You know what that sounds a lot like? Our government right now.

Our current government has been taking information from its us, its citizens, for a long time now. Most people knew of some sort of data collection by the government, but now if has public and unnecessary. The NSA, head of all the data collection, collects data from all around the world, everyday. The branch that was suppose to be in charge of regulating the flow and collection of data by the NSA is called the FISA, and they have become just as corrupt as the rest of the government. At a time when court orders were still required, the FISA held a lot of power in how the data collected, but now with the expansion of world communications, it has lost a lot that power. The FISA used to have to order a court issue in order for the NSA to collect data, but now the NSA can collect phone calls, texts, and emails, all from one general court order.

The reason this has become a very major problem is pretty obvious. The court system put into place to regulate what can be collected from people, has failed miserably. Now you may think, what does the NSA do with all this data it collects. The answer to that is, most of the time nothing. Unless the NSA needs to track or watch you, all they have to do is find your files that they may have collected about you and all of the sudden, the NSA has become the thought police. Able to find anyone at fault because of something that was said or done in the past.

Truman Show v. 1984

In both the Truman Show and 1984, both of the main characters live very parallel lives. Truman and Winston both live in a world that is control in almost every way.

In the Truman Show, Truman is free to live his "life" however he wants to. Free to say and think what ever he wants to. He can have friends and family, and can go where ever he would like to. Winston lives an opposite life. He is restricted in almost every way. He works the job Big Brother tells him to, lives where he is told to, is advised against having friends or relationships. Winston, has to even be careful with what he thinks about. The thought police can supposedly even read your thoughts.

The biggest issues in both the Truman Show and 1984, is the ever looming presence of "big brother". In 1984, Winston is constantly being watched and monitored by the TV's and thought police. Even when he thinks he is entirely alone in an old room, or the forest, he is still very careful of what he says or does out of fear that he is being watched constantly. Truman has a similar way of being watched, but he just doesn't know it. He is left to find out on his own that he is being watched, not only Kristoff, but by hundreds of millions of people. Everything Truman does is real, but everyone, and everything around him is controlled very carefully. The people he thinks are real, but they are actually actors. Both characters  are constantly being watched, but the only real difference is that one knows he is, and one doesn't.