Nosedive Into Our New Reality
Charlie Brooker the creator of the series Black Mirror once said in an interview that purpose of the anthology wasn’t to warn people but to worry them. The episode that worries me the most is Nosedive. Every episode has some exaggerated version of some trait or action happening in our society but I feel as if the premise within Nosedive draws the most similarities to our current lives. The rating social media platform that adds the characteristics of Facebook with a rating website such as Yelp or TripAdvisor can already be seen today with apps such as Uber. Uber has created a platform where something as simple as requesting a taxi has been made even simpler. Benefits include; using your phones location to find you rather than having to call the company and allowing you to prepay with a credit card rather than figuring out your payment options once you’ve arrived at your destination. While making your life easier, Uber also asks for you to rate your experience on a scale of 1 to 5.
This comparison came to mind while watching the main character Lacie rate everything within her social media platform. Even though the episode has everyone rating and posting everything in an effort to become the ideal 5-star person, these traits can be seen in todays society with people uploading pictures and videos hoping to gain more followers and feed their need for validation. In the scene where Lacie positions her coffee and cookie perfectly in order to take a picture is quite literally a representation of the time and effort people put into managing their Instagram page. Only to moments later spit out the cookie and be disgusted by the coffee, meaning that her purchase wasn’t meant to sustain her in the real world by making her more alert but rather to give her a rush a dopamine once the likes came flooding in. Last week the topic of social media and mental health were addressed and this episode reminds me of the power social media has on our overall well being. I must admit I’m guilty of taking countless perfects of my meal in the hopes of getting that perfect picture, usually at the expense of enjoying it in the moment. On the other hand, when I do decide to put my phone away and just enjoy the moment it can sometimes be clouded by FOMO when looking at other peoples amazing food posts. This episode really made me wonder why we let so much of our happiness be dictated by social media, even though wanting to be liked by others isn’t a new concept it has definitely become heightened by the platforms we visit daily.
Social media effects can be seen both internally and externally, from creating the perfect online persona regardless of who you really are to the scene in which everyone bands against Chester without considering the facts of his breakup and they would be down voted if they didn’t. The external effects of social media in this scene depict the current post-truth crisis many are discussing today, in which the idea that garners the most support or is the most emotional must be true regardless of fact checking. Even though the episode is exaggerated some scenes are too realistic to not be worried about where we are heading next.
