Are we about to take a Nosedive?
Of all the episodes of Black Mirror we have watched this semester, I think the issues addressed in Nosedive (season 3, episode 1) are the most relevant and likely to come into play in the near future.
The episode takes place in a futuristic world where everyone rates each other out of five stars. This can be for a pleasant (or unpleasant) interaction while on a jog, serving someone a coffee, for posting a cute instagram-like photo — or any other interaction in life. They seem to have devices that connect everything — real life and every social media site all in one. It becomes more obvious as the episode goes on that a rating is expected for every single interaction. Even interactions with others can cause negative or positive ratings, such as when the main character, Lacie accepts a smoothie from a man at work who is being giving the silent treatment by the rest of their co-workers.
Lacie has goals that require her rating average to be higher than it currently is, such as moving to Pelican Cove (a luxury neighbourhood), and being the maid of honour at Naomi (rated 4.8)’s wedding. This all seems to be going well for Lacie until she misses her flight for the wedding and freaks out at the airport. This sends her into a tailspin that eventually leads her rating to get so low she brandishes a knife at Naomi’s wedding and gets sent to jail.
In our real world, interactions are starting to be treated as dollars. People’s obsession with getting likes on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. are growing to a point where it’s about the number, not the genuine interaction with the person. When you think about the numbers on a video or photo in realistic terms — like high school classrooms or hockey arenas it can become pretty astounding. The fact that this thought is so shocking is proof in itself that we aren’t thinking of viewers, followers, or subscribers as people but as a tool towards success.
In Nosedive, nobody is truthful towards each other for fear of being rated badly. In our world, social media feeds are heavily edited and curated to make it look like life is perfect. How many YouTubers pretend to be best friends but only talk at parties and during collaborations?
How many people go to parties and instead of having a good time with friends, snapchat the whole time?
The way to deal with this potential reality is to value genuine, human interactions. Turn off your phone once in a while and talk to the people around you without your screens in the way. Allow yourself to post and share things because you like them, even if they may not get the most likes. We need to push companies to value our content, not just the engagement.
What do you think? Are we too obsessed with likes and ratings?
Let me know in the comments!
