IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2019 - 85

invitations to social events. The more that these platforms are entrenched into daily life - indeed become
inescapable (think about the marketing disadvantage of
a business without a FB page) - the more individuals
who quit will experience so-called "Fear of Missing Out"
(FOMO), thus potentially making social life more difficult
for these individuals.
Secondly, as alluded to earlier, social media are
becoming metrics for everyday transactions. Take the
example of the business social media application LinkedIn which has 467 million users, 106 million of which
are active monthly [18]. Right from its own "About Us"
section, LinkedIn says it works to "connect the world's
professionals to make them more productive and successful" [19]. With 93% of hiring managers searching
LinkedIn for recruits, those who have profiles on this
social media platform are more likely to be contacted
by a recruiter compared to those who do not [20].
Therefore, individuals who use LinkedIn are advantaged
through the increased likelihood of finding a job. This
creates a digital divide. Not only does this advantage
cause people to use the application more, it also makes
it more difficult to quit, as quitting mean reduced likelihood of finding a job. Social media platforms don't stop
at giving users employment advantages, they could
soon be altering the way bank loans are given. A recent
patent for "authorizing and authenticating a user based
on their social network on Facebook" was given to Facebook. "When an individual applies for a loan, the lender
examines the credit ratings of members of the individual's social network who are connected to the individual"
[21]. Once again, this shows the importance of having a
social media account in modern society, as everyday
tasks are radically changing to favor social platforms.
Finally, designing technology to hypnotize users into
avoiding person-to-person conversation, has manipulated
the link between users' intention and their actions. This
alteration causes the intention to communicate and interact with others to prioritize technology as the causal
action, rather than the causal action of interacting personto-person. Furthermore, this alteration has caused individuals to not perceive the actual cause of the reduction of
person-to-person interactions, which is a lack of introspection. Rather, they attribute it to something else. Sherry
Turkle, Director of the M.I.T. Initiative on Technology and
Self, has deeply analyzed how the use of technology has
affected individuals. In her article "The Flight from Conversation" she describes how "a businessman laments
that he no longer has colleagues at work. He doesn't stop
by to talk; he doesn't call ... He says that they're 'too busy
on their e-mail'" [9]. Turkle uses this example to highlight
how communication without technology has become a
pastime. However, what becomes most interesting is how
after the businessman reasons that others interacting
JUNE 2019

∕

Computer scientists have placed
a trance on the norms of society,
altering them in ways that perpetuate
the continued use of their services.
with technology are the problem, not his own actions, "he
pauses and corrects himself. 'I'm not telling the truth. I
am the one who doesn't want to be interrupted. I think I
should. But I'd rather just do things on my BlackBerry'"
[9]. Comparing this recant, one that individuals have
become all too familiar with, with the post-hypnotic suggestion experience described earlier, the depiction gets
more horrifying. Not only did this businessman subconsciously prioritize technology as the vector for communication, in his recant he misattributed why he made this
prioritization, claiming he'd made a conscious choice to
communicate on his Blackberry. This is true hypnosis.
Reprogramming the link between intention and action to
cause individuals to be fooled into believing that they are
not being hypnotized is the ethereal exertion of power
over another's conscious will.
In the previous example, the businessman awakes
from his slumber; however, this now aware businessman
doesn't work to change his habits, he looks to justify
them. Presented with the world he is missing, he still prioritizes communication through technology over personto-person interaction. This outcome is quite different
than overcoming what political theorist Langdon Winner
has called the Somnambulist state. When the businessman is confronted with the harms of his use of technology, he tries to justify the use, rather than looking to alter
his future behavior. This is where the strength of hypnotism overcomes mere sleepwalking. During our hypnotic
slumber, we are conscious of our actions. We attribute
our extensive use of technology to a decision made by
ourselves rather than one made by technology. When
one is "sleepwalking" the feeling of one's actions being
consciously willed is extremely low. Once awake, it is
easier to justify changing. Once the link between one's
intention and action is reprogrammed to make people
believe that they are not being hypnotized, their actions
while "asleep" become consciously willed, and much
more difficult to correct. This is why the businessman
continues to use his Blackberry, even after he is confronted by harms of his use.
As more and more day-to-day services require the
use of technology, users are experiencing an increasingly unlikely ability to reject the use of social media. From
jobs being easier to get with the use of LinkedIn, to

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2019