IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2019 - 78
Computer
Scientists as
Modern Hypnotists
Placing a Trance on Societal Norms
Bradley Patterson and Nicholas Sakellariou
I
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2019.2913074
Date of publication: 30 May 2019
78
0278-0097/19©2019IEEE
IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE
∕
JUNE 2019
ISTOCK/TSVIBRAV
t is without question that the use of digital technology (DT) has pervaded everyday life. From video chatting with a family member in another
country, to checking the weather on a handheld computer, technology
has provided society with many benefits. Social media, like Facebook
(FB), Twitter, and LinkedIn, have seemingly brought the world closer,
but at what cost? In this article, we show that the mass use of technology, more specifically social media, have led to the conscious will of
users to be hijacked by platforms in order to increase their user-base and capital.
We do this by first evaluating the impact of technology on one's conscious will,
the feeling that one's actions are caused by oneself. After finding that technology
makes users feel as though their actions are more consciously willed, and people
naturally want to feel consciously willed, the next logical step is to analyze how
modern tech companies use this to their advantage. Looking at features from
popular social media, we describe how these features artificially increase the
feeling of users' actions being consciously willed, regardless of if the users are
actually consciously willing their actions. Finally, we discuss ways in which individuals can reclaim control over their conscious will, and how to reduce this
commodification of will at a company level. The ability of a company to control the
decision-making metrics of their users should strike one as troubling; whereas
the power of a company to hypnotize its users into thinking that they are using the platform because they want to, and not because the company wants
them to, is quite concerning.
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2019
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