The reason that I thought of my phone, was because with the technology I am able to limit so much as far as what information that I see. Smart phones allow people to download apps based upon their interest. For me I have games, wallpapers, and of course social media as main apps on my phone. I don't have certain apps like the example of not having baseball or the news. I only select apps I want based on my interest. I think smart phones have further extended our ability to choose what we want and allows us to do this right at the edge of our fingertips.
Do you think customizing and limiting information is a negative thing? Or do you think that this allows us to get more in tune with the things we actually enjoy?
Hi Alexis,
ReplyDeleteI was also intrigued by "The Daily Me" reading and I also thought about the new i-phone and in particular, that commercial where the kid programs his phone to call him "rock god" or something like that. While individualism and personalization are good things in my opinion, is having increased power to filter things really going to help us continue to grow and evolve? The entire time I was reading Sunstein's article I kept thinking about that Pixar movie called "Wall-E." Although it's been years since I have seen it the image of the future of technology that they portray in that film has always stuck with me. Here is a clip to illustrate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=
Having a screen stuck permanently in front of your face in which you can choose precisely what you want to focus on (and indeed be able to filter out all other human contact going on around you) seems akin to Sunstein's "complete personalization of the system of communications." In the movie clip, even when the man falls out of his transporter chair thingy, the other humans continue to whiz by him without even taking notice as robots come to help him back up. What I also find interesting in this scene is the utter surprise and genuine disbelief the man has when something actually speaks to him (not within a computer screen). So, is Wall-E making a case for what complete filterization could lead to? And Alexis, I would say limiting information is both positive and negative depending on how this customization is wielded.