The Illusion of Choice
Who has control?
My smartphone enables me
to keep updated on the latest news, and, therefore, to get more involved in the
events happening around me. However, I am well aware of the fact that my gadget
is not unbiased and that much information that could be “uncomfortable” for the
capitalistic titans that control our media system is lacking. My smartphone
runs on the android platform. Android is advertised as a very open system that
gives customers greater freedom for what concerns the smartphone services.
Android’s popularity lies mostly in this idea of being open, whereas Apple,
which runs the Apple iOS operating system, is a closed one. Each owner of an
Apple device must rely on iTunes to download applications, and even though most
applications require Android users to have a Google account, there is still a
greater variety of choice.
Although the Android system gives us the illusion of freedom and interactive choice, Google owns it and therefore, as a private company, whether we see it or not, controls what it is we are allowed to use and download. The fact that the Samsung I own uses an “open” operating system makes me often believe it is a participatory device, one that allows you to make choices and in this way empowers you. However, as Barry emphasizes, these phones simply “allow [consumers] to select from a predetermined set of options. Far from providing the possibilities for experimentation such interactive devices merely serve to create the illusion of choice.” (Barry 173) Google is not publicly owned. The apps android devices are allowed to download are predetermined.
Our phones as any other technology embody “the values and thought processes of the society that makes them” (Economics as if people mattered). They are programmed to make the user unconsciously enter the cycle of capitalistic societies where citizens are constantly reminded that consumption is their “duty”.To be a truly empowered citizen, you need to know what your choices are. In some ways, our phones, especially those that use an open system like android seem to be leading us towards a scenario where technology’s main use is that of keeping citizens informed. Of course, information has come a long way since the invention of printed press, as digital media now allows for a greater variety of opinions to be distributed. Our smartphones with their easy access to the Internet have, indeed, made greater communication possible, among and between citizens, and they have contributed to guarantee almost equal access to information to anyone that can afford it. However, it should not be forgotten that the web, which used to be much more open and without restrictions, is now more privatized. Google users are only able to access certain sites and, often, these sites are placed strategically for us to be seen. As Sunstein emphasizes in his article “Citizens”, by putting certain ideas and opinions in a favorable light, mainstream media can affect citizens’ choices, preferences, and desires. The same happens with our smartphones. The problem is not the lack of a large variety of opinions, but the fact that certain opinions are intentionally put under the spotlight.
Although the Android system gives us the illusion of freedom and interactive choice, Google owns it and therefore, as a private company, whether we see it or not, controls what it is we are allowed to use and download. The fact that the Samsung I own uses an “open” operating system makes me often believe it is a participatory device, one that allows you to make choices and in this way empowers you. However, as Barry emphasizes, these phones simply “allow [consumers] to select from a predetermined set of options. Far from providing the possibilities for experimentation such interactive devices merely serve to create the illusion of choice.” (Barry 173) Google is not publicly owned. The apps android devices are allowed to download are predetermined.
Our phones as any other technology embody “the values and thought processes of the society that makes them” (Economics as if people mattered). They are programmed to make the user unconsciously enter the cycle of capitalistic societies where citizens are constantly reminded that consumption is their “duty”.To be a truly empowered citizen, you need to know what your choices are. In some ways, our phones, especially those that use an open system like android seem to be leading us towards a scenario where technology’s main use is that of keeping citizens informed. Of course, information has come a long way since the invention of printed press, as digital media now allows for a greater variety of opinions to be distributed. Our smartphones with their easy access to the Internet have, indeed, made greater communication possible, among and between citizens, and they have contributed to guarantee almost equal access to information to anyone that can afford it. However, it should not be forgotten that the web, which used to be much more open and without restrictions, is now more privatized. Google users are only able to access certain sites and, often, these sites are placed strategically for us to be seen. As Sunstein emphasizes in his article “Citizens”, by putting certain ideas and opinions in a favorable light, mainstream media can affect citizens’ choices, preferences, and desires. The same happens with our smartphones. The problem is not the lack of a large variety of opinions, but the fact that certain opinions are intentionally put under the spotlight.
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