Amongst all the black mirror episodes that we’ve watched, the one that really stuck to me the most is Nosedive. Beautiful aesthetics aside (is it also a satire on how visually-focused we have all become?) (At the same time all nauseatingly sweet — just like the main character), I felt it really hit close to home the direction social media and rating apps were headed.
Nosedive follows the story of an ordinary office worker, Lacie, who lives in an alternate reality where people can rate one another using their phones. The ratings have a large impact on your life. Having higher ratings gives you better access to better things, including being able to work in a certain place, whilst lower ratings work to prevent you from certain establishments and opportunities.
Lacie finds a house that she likes, but is too expensive for her to afford. To get a discount, she has to reach a 4.5 rating or above, something her 4.2 rating cannot attain. The film follows her journey into getting a higher rating, though, as in typical Black Mirror fashion, it ends disastrously.
Though the episode was a satire more than anything, the fear stems from the possibility that this could very much be a reality in our near future.The ranking app was a scary combination of uber, airbnb, instagram, yelp, tinder.
But what is interesting is that the application the characters use in the film has already been developed in our real world, which may have inspired the episode itself.
Enter Peeple.
“a reputation application that allows you to recommend and be recommended by the people you interact with.
We want character to be a new form of currency. Peeple will provide you a safe place to manage your online reputation while protecting your greatest assets by making better decisions about the people around you.”
There was a strong media backlash following the announcement of the app’s idea. It was expected to launch in the late 2015s, but launched later in March 8 2016 instead.
I mean, this whole thing is in such bad taste that even though the app is live, it’s hard to believe that we’re still not being trolled here somehow. — TechCrunch
The app hasn’t been successful since. Most users and non users alike were revolted at such an idea,which I am grateful for. Having watched nosedive, we see how much of a nightmare that would become. So we know that we just aren't primed for such an extreme dystopia yet.
But this doesn’t mean that there aren’t already hints of Nosedive in our reality. Black mirror is about technology, yes. But more importantly, it is about ourselves and human nature. Technology is just the tool that drives our habits along.
The ranking system is a mirror of how society works.
You give someone a higher rating because you want them to rate you highly back, and not just because you truly think they deserve. Appearances play the largest factor. It is about who looks the best, who is able to function most optimally in society. The rating system doesn’t leave any room for digression of any sort. This we can see when Lacie starts swearing, or shows any sign of unpleasant behaviour — passerbys start to tsk and down vote her immediately.
Even if its just a satire, and the app failed IRL, what rings true is the social systems that we engage in, and everything surrounding the idea of the app. Sometimes we have to fake nice and act swarmy for people to like us. You can’t be grumpy in front of people you’ve just met, even if that’s what you are feeling. You have to be conscious of not offending anyone or getting anyone upset.
The popular people — whether it be on social media or IRL, look good, dress good, and do fancy things (canapes… anyone?), and social media helps to propagate that.
And what about the hoards of people all just walking around and only looking at their phones? How much time in a day do you spend looking at your screen?
As for the food styling — I for one, am also all too familiar with styling one’s meal, and how sometimes the presentation and appearance of it matters much more than how it actually tastes.
How much do we depend on external validation — through likes and positive comments, more followers.. Its an endless chase. We may get a temporary boost of happiness, just like Lacie does — when she sees her rating go up — but at the end of the day, she returns home lonely and ultimately unsatisfied with her life.
This episode serves as a warning, and if we aren’t too careful, the dystopia that we see on Black Mirror could one day become a reality.
