Sunday, September 16, 2018

Black Mirror - Nosedive (Part 2 in a Series)

Black Mirror's Nosedive explores the increasing dependency rating systems of social media by humans to help shape our view of the world. We currently live in a world in which the 5 star rating system is currently used to shape how we see a business or event. When you search a business on Google, you can see the ratings. The same for FB or YELP. People can rate a business or event.

Beyond the rating, is a dark side. People with mental health issues can anonymously berate a business or event. 1 star and a degrading remark based on an unstable reaction to an experience. The irrational can cut like a knife on how people perceive a business, especially if they are new. 

What would happen when we create a system for humans being rated?  Would we apply the rating systems to privileges and access to class systems? This episode addresses the peril that can be caused by a virtual caste system. The episode explores how such a system can impact human development. From early childhood to adulthood, the rating system impacts self-worth.

When you think about it, this is an extension of the means tested society that exists today. We constantly reinforce self-worth from age 3 to adulthood. Children at identified and placed in programs that shape their reality and perception. Poor and rich are divided by school placement. Race and gender has evaluative processes from early on that determine self-worth. Nosedive warns us of a world that extends the reach of shaping our perception of who we are supposed to be in the world we live in. 
Another aspect this episode that is critically important is the story of the Truck Driver. A glimpse into the future of healthcare. Pay close attention to means testing care. We already have started to incorporate the philosophy of rating systems into our current healthcare system. A dark warning regarding the direction we are heading. 

Shaping is a huge part of rating systems. The intent of information sharing via ratings helps create a society that is extremely impersonal. We become detached from allowances for bad luck, or tragic events that impact a human life. You are only as good as your last rating, and this is very dangerous. 

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