Essay 30 - Technology and Amplified Identity Regression

This whole problem of identity regression, especially regressing to the wrong identity, is amplified by technology. If you watch a movie on Netflix or buy a book on Amazon, suggestions will be made regarding similar movies or similar books that you might like. Let’s explore the implications through an example. Let’s say you have a momentary interest in the Civil War. So, you buy a book. Amazon recommends another book which you buy and read. You then find a documentary on Netflix. Next, Netflix recommends a Civil War movie which you might watch. Then, while doing something totally unrelated on the web, an advertisement pops up for a specialty site selling Civil War uniforms. Then another pops up for re-enacting opportunities. Before you know it, you are a full-fledged Civil War buff. And yet, for some reason, it is not that satisfying.

In a perfect world, you might have dabbled in any number of passing fancies until settling on one that really grabs you, say the future of technology. This might resonate with you because you think way more about the future than you do about the past. Looking back, when you thought about the Civil War battles, you would always wonder how modern military technology would have affected the outcome of specific battles and ultimately the war. Your interest in technology of the future continues to grow until you join a futures society. Further, in your spare time, you develop a deep appreciation for science fiction. This is right because it feels right. It is where you are. It resonates deeply within you. The Civil War interest was better than boredom. But your future of technology activities are as good as it gets.

Modern technology can steer us in the wrong direction sometimes and we must keep looking until we find something that really feels right. How many passing interests have you had over the course of your life that were short lived and then discarded? Have you ever browsed on Netflix or Amazon and found something you really like that would never have been chosen by the algorithms?

This essay is 358 words long and the audio is just over 3 minutes.