It’s no secret that social media has become highly addictive. In fact, the average person spends about 2 and a half hours per day consuming social media in some form. As a result, the Senate is considering a ban on the addictive features of online media, such as infinite scroll and autoplay.
The proposed bill, called the “SMART Act” defines infinite scroll as “the use of a process that automatically loads and displays additional content, other than music or video content that the user has prompted to play… without requiring the user to specifically request… that additional content be loaded and displayed.
David Gelernter’s “THE SECOND COMING — A MANIFESTO,” released in 1999, made numerous predictions about the future of technology. Now, 21 years later, his projections are beginning to bear fruit, as the senate’s definition of infinite scroll aligns closely with Gelernter’s definition of “cyberbodies.”
According to Gelernter, “the computing future is based on ‘cyberbodies’ — self-contained, neatly-ordered, beautifully- laid-out collections of information, like immaculate giant gardens… A cyberbody can be replicated or distributed over many computers”
Current social media feeds are the epitome of Gelernter’s “cyberbodies.” Infinite media scroll pages are algorithmically cultivated exhibits of information curated according to time, relevance, and our own preferences. Furthermore, social media apps can be accessed by many devices at once; they are always available at a moment’s notice. Thus, Gelertner accurately foresaw the creation of the infinite scroll.
The Senate, conversely, is now anticipating the demise of the infinite scroll. This is because while Gelernter accurately predicted this computing development, he did not account for its consequences and the nefarious reasons driving the change. The infinite media feed was not created simply due to its natural representation of data; rather, it was created to feed internet addiction, which nourishes software companies’ insatiable bottom lines.
The SMART Act asserts that “to achieve [as much of their users’ attention as possible]... internet companies design their platforms and services to exploit brain physiology and human psychology… these design choices interfere with the free choice of users.”
It’s alarming to see how Gelernter’s predictions have played out with modern technology, as software companies have clearly twisted our use of social media apps for their own benefit. Hopefully, this threat of a government ban will set a precedent and shape an ethical evolution of future technologies.
Great job improving on the original post! I felt your use of pictures in the original blogpost was pretty spot on, but evidently in your revised version, with the addition of another picture, you're were able to improve upon it. I also noticed that you cleaned up the text formatting, which now really aids the reader in having a smooth reading experience. Although the original aim and overall content of the post hasn't change, with the reformatting of the paragraphs and cleaning up of the sentences, you were able to get your point across more concisely. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHaving gone back to your original blog post I can really see that you made a lot of improvements. By reorganizing your blog post you greatly improved the experience for your audience. I also think it was a good idea to move around some of your text, as you now talk about the actual senate bill before diving into the class readings. I'm glad that you kept the same images from your original blog post as they very much have the feeling of being images that would be used in an actual blog post. Great job overall!
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