Are We Completing the Circle?
ENGL 512
8/27/17
Essay Response to:
Changes in Communication etc. Because of Digital Media
I remember back in the 90’s watching a movie that horrified me of how society would truly get with the advent of technology. It spoke of privacy concerns being raised, government eyes watching over you and an overwhelming fear of where technology would take us. Enemy of the State, the movie I just referred to, spoke of privacy concerns related to actual laws that were passed by the government at that time by a lone character within the movie who hauntingly spoke of the demise it would create. It is hard to believe that the technology in that film appears outdated by miles, and the concerns the film raises spoke truthfully of issues to come. Technology each of us are using today is leaving a blueprint of our and everyone else’s information we are in contact with for others to find.
One important issue that Eggers book brings up is that the job that Mae has is an in demand computer professional. It does not state exactly what she does, but we know she was hired for her degree and expertise in PC’s. This is a job for a small subset of people. It requires high math skills something our country has a hard time producing enough of. So anyone and everyone who does not have this set of skills cannot obtain this utopian ideal- sounds a little like unfair commerce.
One of the issues that Eggers refers to in The Circle is the major advantages to giving up your privacy that make such an act one is willing to do for the reward. At the beginning of the book young Mae is in a job she hates with little opportunity for accolade, peer collaboration and camaraderie. She seeks the benefits of working in a beautiful building that is awe inspiring. “The front hall was as long as a parade, as tall as a cathedral” (Eggers, p. 3). The fictional company continues to impress her with a gym, yoga studio, and even a hotel to stay in for late work nights. In comparison, there are not many jobs that offer these kinds of perks; except ones that have similar qualities to The Circle i.e. Amazon, Google, and Facebook are a few. A number of complaints within news sources have alluded to issues in overworking employees, extensive pressure from supervisors to obtain perfect results and a culture that does not allow dissent among others from the companies listed above. The frightening thing with these corporations is how much money they are worth- it’s staggering. Even if the government were to regulate them it would not happen overnight because they would be able to fight it for years with their unending resources.
Another important issue the book also brought up was the fact how Mae rejoiced at being able to provide insurance for her parents thanks to the generous policy of her employer. All she had to do was continue to work there and allow cameras to be put into her parents’ home. Now if you are suffering from a terrible disease and you have no way of obtaining insurance to help pay for your care or you have insurance that is refusing to pay what choice do you have? The alternative is bankruptcy, depending on others and indentured servitude to help you live.
I think the book shows what I have felt to be true; that we are expected to work harder at our jobs (even to the detriment of our mental, physical and emotional health) and forgo more of our personal lives in order to obtain employment with a secure job so that we can obtain the necessities of life: food, clothes and shelter. As life gets closer and closer to the fiction we read in books there is less to be hopeful about. It is all a blur, I can see why Game of Thrones with its mythical dragons is so popular; at least I know dragons are not real.
