Despite how nice The Circle seems, it’s a major conspiracy theory waiting to be picked apart. In the book The Circle by Dave Eggers, we learn of a technology company that has monopolized the industry. Long gone are the days of paypal, face book, Instagram, snapchat etc. Everything has been condensed into one spot and managed by one company—The Circle. We learn about a young woman named Mae, who’s been struggling to find her place in the working world just like anyone else her age. Mae joins The Circle through her college friend Annie and is thrown into a world where nothing is personal or a secret. On page 65, Eamon Bailey explains and introduces the new mass surveillance cameras; small and discreet they can’t be seen by the average human
eye. While in theory, this is a nice idea, and may even be helpful in the future, it raises red flags. Bailey mentions that he has cameras located in other countries. However, this seems more like spyware. One can’t help but think what the country’s leaders and government would feel about America spying on them on an even closer and microscopic level. America itself gets pissy when we’re put in that position. Take Adups for example. It’s a Chinese Data Mining software that’s being found in technology that’s sold to America and used on a constant basis. The software monitors text, data, call, location, and app data. Adups can be found in products: Blu and ZTE, phones, and rumored to be in Huawei phones. The FBI, CIA, and NSA have publicly accused these companies, especially Huawei. Despite them denying the claim, carriers have stopped selling these phones. Then there’s the obvious objection towards the cameras for people’s personal lives. What about the intimate moments that we value being private? While this technology is already used and present in our current day and lives, we’re not always aware of it. Selling these cameras to the public, and making it available for anyone and everyone, would make us hyper aware, and be a big reality tv show, and of course the misuse for the cameras. It’s a voyeurist’s dream come true. “All that happens must be known” (Eggers 68). When Mae joins The Circle, one of the major changes she goes through is the heavy social media usage. We know she comes from a smaller town, so that may be the cause of her anti-social ways. However, at The Circle, part of the job that’s required is to “zing” or update or post a picture about what you do or are doing. While, it may seem easy and normal enough, Mae finds it a challenge. When she’s questioned about it, she always has a similar answer. “I didn’t know”, “I didn’t think I was invited” “Yes I care” or something along those lines. While she’s always apologizing for her behavior, some of the things seem a bit forced. Kind of like Positivity Brainwashing. Everything should be upbeat, everyone should be upbeat, if there’s a issue, you should talk to someone, you shouldn’t be alone, you should care that someone should care about you. With Mae already being a recluse, we could see that as a character flaw. But, don’t you sometimes just need to be alone? She uses kayaking as a coping mechanism. It puts her at peace. Helps her make decisions and think clearly. Having that personal time is crucial. Having downtime is crucial. Which is apparently a concept that doesn’t exist at The Circle.
Every one is scavenging for the next big gadget- the future is a standard that society strives to have in their grasp. However, Joel Achenbach a former humor columnist solves the mystery of the future in his article, “The Future is Now: it’s heading right at us, but we never see it coming” .he presents a sense of urgency describing that the future is not something that society needs to wait for it happens behind closed doors. He argues that the future is a fast pace entity that occurs all around us. Achenbach proves this point by sticking to his humorous style, with the use of witty allusions to Sci-Fi films.
In the book “The Mad Among Us-A History of the Care of American’s Mentally Ill,” the author Gerald Grob, tells a very detailed accounting of how our mental health system in the United States has struggled to understand and treat the mentally ill population. It covers the many different approaches that leaders in the field of mental health at the time used but reading it was like trying to read a food label. It is regurgitated in a manner that while all of the facts are there, it lacks any sense humanity. While this may be more of a comment on the author or the style of the author, it also is telling of the method in which much of the policy and practice has come to be. It is hard to put together without some sense of a story to support the action.
cameras can be extremely small and are often hardly noticeable. But few people it seems
In society, any accidents are perceived as negative outcomes illustrate a terrible ending that has taken place but in reality it can be perceived as something positive in the long run. By obstructing the 2005 Camaro and the three teens, it occurred that no one was injured and everything was calm. Accident by Dave Egger represents how a bad decision becomes a point of conflict and symbolism within the theme of the story.
...that was for public safety purposes is being used for advertising – the cameras are able to recognize faces and thus target the ads. The so called “telescreens” that Orwell made up are actually already in our households. New “Smart” televisions send data about our behaviour and what files we have back to remote servers where they are analysed in order to make the marketing even more effective. However, this is just a beginning. If people are ignorant enough, the companies and government have a free rein to spy on citizens.
"Security & Surveillance." Center for Democracy & Technology. Center for Democracy & Technology, 2013. Web. 08 Feb. 2014.
Rivera, 445 Mass. 119, 833 N.E.2d 1113 (2005). In Rivera, a convenience store’s surveillance camera recorded a violent robbery. The victim refused to open the register despite several demands by two masked robbers. The robbers then left the store and the victim pursued them. One of the robbers then shot the victim and fled the scene. Id. at 1116. Similar to Rivera, Dr. Knowles’s camera was installed by a private party for security purpose, but the court held that the convenience store’s recording was not secretive because the surveillance camera was in plain view, where a person is likely to know they are being recorded. Id. Relying on this decision, the police department may distinguish their case by arguing that even if cameras are installed for security purposes, they are a violation of privacy if not apparent to the public. See also Commonwealth v. Jackson, 370 Mass. 502, 349 N.E.2d 227, 339 (1976) (“It is clear that the Legislature intended that the statutory restrictions be applicable…to the secret use of such devices”). The police may argue that the state-of-the-art eye equipment was not detectable. Since it is a webcam from a private investigation firm, it is meant to be undetected by the naked
As technology allows for the constant possibility that someone might always be watching you — whether it’s the government, your friends, or
Whitefield, Paul. “Yahoo webcam spying: When Big Brother morphs into Peeping Tom”. Los Angeles Times. (27 Feb 2013). Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
In 1948, George Orwell wrote about a society in which individual privacy was nonexistent. In this society, which he imagined would become a reality in the 1980s, surveillance was foremost. Everything one did was under surveillance by “Big Brother”, an unseen figure who was always watching you. Surveillance in this society was imposed and malicious. Although this type of society has never fully become a reality in the Western world, changes in technology and media are indirectly bringing this imagined society, one of complete surveillance, to life. With the rise in corporate business and commercialism, surveillance in society increasing; however, new media has brought about a significant shift in its use. In the 20th century, surveillance was primarily used for “protective measures”, as Orwell had imagined. In the 21st century, there has been a rise in its use for commercialism. This essay will critically analyze the developments in new media that have contributed to this shift, as well as explain the reason for the ubiquitous nature of surveillance in today’s western society. To aid with this analysis, surveillance will hereby be defined as a “focused, systematic, and routine attention to personal details for purposes of influence, management, protection or direction” (Lyon 2007:14).
Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Print Kuhn, Betsy. Prying Eyes: Privacy in the Twenty-First Century? Minneapolis: Lerner Publishing Group, 2008.
The Magic Circle The Magic Circle, by Donna Jo Napoli, dealt with three main characters. In the story, a woman named The Ugly One possesses the power to heal. The woman has a beautiful daughter named Asa. The Ugly one is a sorcerer who also helps sick people who are possessed by demons. The Ugly one becomes a witch after biting the finger off a deformed baby child and desiring an exquisite golden ring.
An enthralling journey through the life of Mae Holland, The Circle takes you through the young woman’s fictitious experience at the reigning tech enterprise of her world. The story begins with Mae Holland seeing the campus of the company for the first time. She is two years graduated from Carleton, a university, and is just about to begin her career. The campus thoroughly impresses Mae and is a feeling similar to any college graduate’s first experience at a Fortune 500 company in the real world. This sets a tone for the company as a giant, a company big enough that she could only expect to be another cog in the wheel. With that being said, she diligently works her up the ladder of the company. This company made itself through creation of TruYou. This is a way that people can handle every single aspect of their digital life through one identity, known as their TruYou. This is an idea that...
The past decade has seen a proliferation of law enforcement security cameras in public areas, with central London having more cameras than any other city. In cities like New York, Los Angeles, and central London, cameras can be found at almost every intersection. Terrorist attacks have been a major basis for this significant increase in law enforcement security cameras; however, privacy advocates, along with many of the public, feel that it’s an invasion of privacy. People are concerned that all this video surveillance, which is continuously expanding, has created a “Big Brother” society, where people are constantly watched. This creates paranoia and unease for people that just want to go about living there private lives, without feeling that their every move is being watched. The increased presence of surveillance cameras is almost compared to George Orwell’s novel from 1984, where he imagined a future in which people would be monitored and controlled by the government. One question that needs to be asked is: does the benefits of law enforcement security cameras outweigh the negative sides to it? Although the invasion of privacy is a serious argument against law enforcement cameras; nevertheless, it should be seen as a valuable tool to help fight crime. As long as surveillance cameras are in public places and not in people's homes, privacy advocates should not be concerned.
The book, The World is Flat, by Thomas Friedman draws attention to some very good points concerning globalization and the world economy today. Friedman emphasizes the status of America today in relation to the other countries of the world. As I looked at the things in which he warned about or highlighted, I realized the importance of this issue. He talks about a few aspects in which need to be kept competitive in order for America to retain their current standing in the world market.