Macy Thomas

English 102 Blog

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A picture to go along with my post on the persuasion on personal opinion due to the use of technology.

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Has Your Opinion Changed Due To Posts on the Internet?

The Internet is a place where all people have the ability to voice and argue each of their own thoughts and opinions. Because individuals all around the world have this ability, people are often swayed from their own personal opinions when they read online debates and articles. In The Circle by Dave Eggers, you see this brainwashing and swaying of opinions through the main character, Mae. Throughout the story you follow Mae through her new and astonishingly advanced job at The Circle, but you see how much her character changes while she works in The Circle. You see this change because the technology use and her fellow employees are all seemingly brainwashed by the company’s rules and regulations of their technology usage. My favorite example of the way Mae is somewhat brainwashed by the technology she uses is in the book when she is taking a survey test as a newbie in the company. While taking her she gets distracted talking to another employee and her computer prompts her to continue answering questions by saying her name, but in her own voice. Hearing her own voice call upon herself shocked her because at first she did not recognize that it was her own voice. She was enthralled by the way it sounded because she felt like she seemed to sound so much more mature and different than she had before starting her new job at the Circle. By her fascination in the technology used to make her own voice summon her she was swayed to change her answer to “yes” that she had actually wanted to say “no” to. Another way that Mae is influenced by the use of technology is on pages 289-290 when she is speaking to Bailey, one of the “wise men” of The Circle. Bailey uses a mirror analogy to persuade Mae that having her own personal secrets from the company was unsound. Bailey says that keeping secrets is like “… a broken mirror” and asks Mae “if we look into a broken mirror, a mirror that’s cracked or missing parts, what do we get?” (Eggers 289-290). This question then made Mae realize that “any assessment, judgment, or picture utilizing incomplete information would always be wrong” (Eggers 290). The wise man of the company had totally convinced Mae that it was perfectly normal to give all the people around you access to your life through technology so they would never see and incomplete or distorted image of the person she was.

In our current society today, large and small corporations around the world use the Internet and other forms of technology to change the thoughts and opinions of technology users. For example, the CEO of the world’s largest PR firm has studied new documents obtained by Greenpeace and shared with Motherboard that “illustrate the extensive, meticulous planning that has gone into at least one of Edelman’s proposed astroturf campaigns, aimed at helping TransCanada mobilize “grassroots” (How 1). These specific astroturf campaigns are “increasingly popular tactic[s] wherein corporations sponsor front groups or manufacture the appearance of … support to stimulate a genuine social movement that [rallies] for goals in line with their profit motive” (How 1). This social media persuasion often causes Internet users to sway their decision of support from one side to the other. Many advertisements and other pop-ups are also causing people all over the world to believe in things they may not have believed in prior to seeing the advertisements.

Social media and the overuse of technology have both shown that these social sites have the capability to sway people’s decisions and motives on whatever they are aiming for.

 Works Cited

Eggers, Dave. The Circle: A Novel. New York: Division of Random House LLC, 2013. Print.

"How Corporations Use Technology and Social Media to Sway Your Opinion." FinalGearcom Forums RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2015.

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ARE WE ADDICTED TO TECHNOLOGY?

Technology usage has been more prevalent around the world more and more as it continues to advance. Dave Eggers’ book, The Circle, points out how beneficial the advancements of technology are becoming, but how time consuming and life consuming the usage of technology has become. The question of technology being addictive in today’s society has been commonly discussed, and I personally believe that it has become extremely addictive. Children all over the world struggle to go just a few hours without their phone or personal devices. Researchers are saying that “what starts out as a convenient way to stay in touch can turn into a compulsive need to use those devices and check messages at all hours of the day” (Technology 1).

Of course, when most people hear the word “addiction” they think of substance abuse like tobacco, drugs, alcohol, and gambling, but in recent years health experts have begun to call to a newer addiction: technology. There are multiple ways in which the population can be addicted to technology such as: internet addiction, sexual content addiction, and social media addiction.  

In Egger’s book the addiction to technology is portrayed through more of a social media content addiction. When Gina sets up Mae’s Zing account she tells Mae that she “expect[s] about ten or so [zings] a day, but that’s [the] minimum” (Eggers 98). This scene of the story shows that just to be a worker in the Circle, one must dedicate their undivided attention to all the new technology the company develops, because as an employee in The Circle all of its inhabitants must stay up-to-date with all new utilities and devices. Having dedicated so much time to all of the “social norms” in the Circle it is easy to identify that the characters in the story are all addicted to technology because it consumes every aspect of their personal, professional, and business life. Another example the way addiction to technology is portrayed within The Circle is on page 330 when transparent Mae is answering survey questions and gets a 99 average on her survery performance. Because Mae was transparent and everyone could watch her every move, they all saw her average and “[it] provoked a flurry of congratulatory zings [from] watchers [that were] happy to see Mae’s commitment” (Eggers 330). Mae was rewarded online from thousands of followers just for her commitment to her technology. Thus, giving Mae a sense of pride of her use in technology which made her use it even longer and allow it to continue consuming her day. In our society today, researchers conducted a study to see just how much time people were actually dedicating to technology, an AOL study revealed that “59 percent of PDA users check every single time an email arrives and 83 percent check email every day on vacation” and researchers at the University of Glasgow found that “half of the study participants reported checking their email once an hour, while some individuals check up to 30 to 40 times an hour” (Feature 1).

This much involvement and dedication to technology has actually developed into serious a cyber-addiction. Jenn Hoffman, CEO of the J Brand Group, admits that “[her] Blackberry runs [her] life”, she also admits that she is “so addicted to [her] device that [she] stopped mid-bite to rush to send this message” during a dinner with some of her friends (Feature 1). Just from my personal perspective I have found it extremely difficult to sit at a dinner table full of family and friends and have each person’s undivided attention throughout the meal courses because they constantly feel the need to check social media and communicate with other people through their personal devices. A lot of kids, and even adults, around the world get anxious when their phones are not near them because they feel the need to check them or feel as if they are “missing out” on important events. Researchers have also found that individuals who struggle with “depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder are more likely to become over-dependent on the Internet [, and] in some cases, the technology addiction may cause these conditions” (Scott 1). Along with these types of disorders, technology overuse can lead to even more severe conditions that deal with sight and sleeping patterns. Technology addiction is a real and extremely prevalent addiction amongst the world’s inhabitants today and it is causing serious issues within the teen and adult bodies.

 Works Cited

Eggers, Dave. The Circle: A Novel. New York: Division of Random House LLC, 2013. Print.

Feature, Jennifer SoongWebMD. "When Technology Addiction Takes Over Your Life." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 04 May 2015.

Scott, Jennifer A. "Are You Addicted to Technology?" EverydayHealth.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2015.

"Technology: The New Addiction?" Technology: The New Addiction? Cigna, n.d. Web. 04 May 2015.

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Your Best Friend “Technology” is Invading YOUR Privacy

The advancements in technology have been decreasing the privacy level in the lives of individuals all over the world by public cameras that monitor each and every move a person makes in its scope of film. The Circle, by Dave Eggers, is a novel that shows the accuracy of exactly what these advancements can take away from an individual’s privacy. A quote from a newspaper article in the New York Times states that the main thought process of the characters in the circle is “if secrecy is eliminated, everyone has to present their best selves.” Although it may be true that when secrets are not present, everyone must present a better version of themselves, this still violates the human right to privacy.

In The Circle, the monopolistic company develops small cameras that are attached to some of the Circle’s inhabitants causing them to become “transparent”. These cameras are called “SeeChange” and basically invade all privacy of each individual they are placed on. These cameras, which could easily be developed in modern society, monitor each and every thing each person does throughout the day. This ultimately gives those who have control to watch over the cameras, the ability to see everything a person does throughout his or her day. Author of an article discussing this invasion of privacy, Julie Myhre, states that people are becoming too comfortable with their technology and relying too heavily on it to store personal information. Myhre says that “it's ignorant of us to think that the information is safe and will be completely removed from the memory once we delete it, especially since it's been shown multiple times that deleted information can be recovered”; which is a very valid argument because no matter what private information you may have on your phone or personal technology can be found and even used against you (Myhre 1). If personal information is stored on a technological device, it is open to the risk of strangers, hackers, or identity thieves to gain access to all of it which leads to extreme invasion of privacy

In The Circle the characters also debate the decision to put trackers in all of the children living there so they are able to display a child’s location within seconds. These specific trackers are said to reduce the amount of abductions, but they also invade the privacy of where children may be willingly going. The youth may not always want everyone to know where they are at all times every second of the day. People have the right to go as they please without the constant monitoring of their location. This use of technology relates even to the area that I live in right now. I am a resident of Myrtle Beach and it has been brought to my attention that over 200 new security cameras will be placed all over the city near beach accesses and stop lights. This gives the city of Myrtle Beach the ability to look over all videos taken and view things that those who are being filmed may not want people to see. Another way that tracking technology invades personal business is location tracking on cellular phones. Some people think it is cool to be able to have location tracking on their personal devices so they can see a roadmap of where certain photos were taken, or even so apps like Snapchat can display certain filters that adjust to the area you are in. Little do people realize that this use of technology is giving the world, and multiple companies, the ability to see where you are located at every moment of the day. To even further this argument, not only can technology track where you are located, but it can track all online activity. This technology is tracking our internet usage through “tracking cookies” that create “a blueprint of websites you visit[ed] on the Internet and can even contribute … to the personalized advertisements you see on various websites” (Mehyre 1). These cookies have the ability to save credit card information, personal addresses, and passwords for most websites. In The Circle Eggers also shows a huge invasion of privacy of the Circle’s employees when the technology they use is all sent to “the cloud”. The cloud is accessible to everyone in the company and any information on any person can be viewed. This issue is discussed when Mae, the main character in The Circle, does something she is not very proud of with another employee. Mae and Francis were videotaped while doing something Mae did not want everyone to see, but it was too late for the video evidence to be deleted because that specific video was already in “the cloud” for everyone to access. The Circle is definitely a book that shows each and every individual way technology can wiggle its way into all things you may want to keep private. Each of these examples show that although technology is beneficial, it also can invade the one thing most people are not willing to sacrifice: their privacy.

 Works Cited

Mehyre, Julie. "Technology Is Invading Our Privacy." Direct Marketing News. Direct Marketing News, 20 Aug. 2013. Web. 03 May 2015.

Eggers, Dave. The Circle: A Novel. New York: Division of Random House LLC, 2013. Print.