Technology In Dave Eggers The Circle

Today’s society is becoming more and more dependent on technology. Among the different generations ranging from the elderly, to the new generation, technology use is on the opposite ends for each generation. In The Circle, Dave Eggers depicts the horrors of advancement in technology. With the parallels between the novel and the present, Eggers uses the fictitious society to warn us about the possible future outcomes such as the loss of privacy, constant need for affirmation, prominence of becoming anti-social and loss of identity. The main theme of the novel is how dangerous technology is because of the invasiveness of our privacy. I found Eggers shows how modernization comes at such a high price through the extreme use of being transparent
“I want to be seen. I want proof I existed… Most people do.” (490) I found this captures Mae’s lust to be remembered and be acknowledged of her existence. Like most people that use social media, they do it for the affirmation and mindset of “being liked”, similar to Mae being overly obsessed with having a high PartiRank. PartiRank ranks the amount of participation any Circler does using TruYou, which enables them to connect with their inner and outer circles. This technology is similar to seeing the amount of likes or comments you get on any social media post, giving you affirmations to boost your self esteem when the feedback is positive and moves you “higher up the ranks” on social media. With the consistent need to be accepted by everyone, people’s self esteem can sky rocket and create big egos for those who are social media “famous”. While boosting your self esteem is a good thing, negative comments or not as many likes can go from being on a sugar high, to crashing when you see that one post is not as successful as the other. I think that as people we have always liked to be told we are doing something right, similar to a compliment or an award before there was social media. With the social media presence becoming so prominent
Another fictional technology that can soon become a reality is the TruYou. TruYou allows all social media, health records, banking, education, and every other aspect of your life to be in one convenient place. “To use any of the Circles’s tools, the most dominant and ubiquitous and free, you had to do it as yourself, as your actual self, as your TruYou.” (22). I think this depicts the loss of identity without technology, because it is saying that the only way we are able to be the true versions of ourselves, is if we use technology. I found that comparable to TruYou, is the fact that now social media sites can be interlinked within each other, and you can post on one account and make the same post be available on all platforms. This linking of social media, is leading us in the direction of TruYou and I think that is a dangerous and very realistic thing that can occur within the new few years. It is dangerous because having all your information in one site, allows the site to be all knowing and become a monopoly, which can lead to biases. This can give one company the power to control everyone and every aspect of life, which would lead to a technology dictatorship and possibly no way to overcome it with its all knowing power. Social media deletes our identity and creates a new virtual one that meshes as