Nosedive: Is this our reality?

When I first started watching Nosedive, I thought it was a bit outrageous. Rating people? After every interaction? I thought it was crazy, and impossible to imagine in my own life.

But as the episode went on, the more I realized all these little things that are already happening. Sure, we don’t rate people after every conversation. But, when Lucie is in the coffee shop, everyone around her is on their phone with their noses down, even people who are sitting with someone else. And then I thought about when I went to Starbucks this morning to get a drink, just staring at my phone waiting for my name to be called. The other people waiting for their drinks were looking down too. Watching it on screen I thought how silly, these people can’t even look up from their phones to get their coffees. But then upon self reflecting I realized I did the exact same thing that morning.

So is this dystopian reality happening? I see glimpses of it in our lives today. Not just my Starbucks example, but all the time in everyday life. I took an Uber the other day, where you rate your driver. I understand it’s for monitoring their service, but still. What is the criteria for rating someone five stars? Is it if they did a poor job driving or you just didn’t like the conversation? Or Instagram, getting likes and followers. These metrics effect us just as heavily as the ratings did for the people in Nosedive. And the scene where her car won’t plug in because it doesn’t have the right adapter, that’s what is happening between different models of iPhones with their charging cables. There were so many glimpses in the episode of painful truths of our society.

The main point that really hit hard for me was when Lucie is in the truck with Susan, and Lucie explains that she doesn’t know what she’s searching for, she’s just waiting to get to that place where she is never wanting more. I feel like no matter how high of a rating Lucie got, she would never feel good enough. What would happen when she got that 4.8? Her problems would not all just get magically solved. The rating system of the society places your worth in the hands of another person. Having a source of happiness and identity that can ultimately be taken away by someone is not an enduring way to find true fulfilment. That’s what Susan and her brother were trying to tell her. Whether it’s in some form of a higher power, a way of being, or within yourself, you have to find a source of happiness that does not rely on the validation of others.

So what can we do? How can we stop this validation obsessed society from consuming us? What are steps we can take now?

For starters, I think putting our phones down more helps. My phone is usually my go to action when I’m bored or waiting. I’ve made it a mission of mine to be more mindful when I’m using my phone. I put it away during class to focus, at Starbucks I keep it in my pocket and thank my Barista, while waiting for the Subway I read a book or just think about my day.

I think that also as individuals, we have to strive to find sources of happiness that don’t depend on social media or technology. For me, that’s my family, my friends, when I see cute dogs on the street, and learning to love who I am.

I know that for me, I have to be happy and confident with myself first and foremost. I don’t allow myself, or at least try my hardest not to, let other people determine my self-worth. I need to know that even when all the social media likes and follows fade and if a rating system ever came to be, that I am happy with who I am no matter what others say.