Technology was supposed to be about unlimited access and connectivity with anyone in any place at anytime. But recently it has fueled self-obsession. Now we are talking at people not talking with people. Now it’s all about me.
Here are some examples about how technology is either deliberately tapping into the insight of ego or maybe just fanning the flames a bit.
Check out this billboard from Verizon taken from Philadelphia just last week. The idea basically is about world domination. Now signal strength equals your power and influence.
And have you seen the AT&T “Every second maters” commercial where your phone’s speed can take you from being a waitress to a life as a beloved ballet dancer drinking champagne? Now a split second can lead to a life of missed opportunities.
We don’t even need to seek the approval of professionals to deem that our writing is worthy of publishing. Now you can make your dream happen with Barnes & Noble’s pub-it™.
Even Facebook has taken hits for being too much about one-way bragging vs. a dialog. It is the modern day version of the Christmas Letter. Urban Dictionary even has “facebook brag” in its dictionary.
Just a few more…
• Linked In let’s you boost your self-esteem by finding out who has been checking you out professionally.
• On mylife.com the über-narcissist can even find out who is desperately trying to find them but can’t. Personally I find that level of self-importance a little hard to stomach.
• Twitter’s contests to be the most followed/popular.
• Verizon’s “Prejudice” campaign where a 16 year old declares “if my ideas are infectious, I can lead the army that will follow.” An army?
All of these elements fuel our obsession to be heard. We want to be the center of attention. Even worse, we want to be envied and/or worshipped.
So what about the implications for technology brands?
The lines around the Apple stores prior to each prove our need to be first. And so we reward the brands that help us to be first/be envied with our hard earned cash. And did you see the video where the psychopathic ego of Hitler is compared to a corporate executive? (Watch Hitler on the iPhone 4G Gizmodo Leak from iGlaswegian on Vimeo).
We are abandoning technology brands we have been loyal to for decades if they jeopardize or even just slightly dilute our social and professional standings. With anything from signal strength to privacy settings, the shift from frustration to dismissal can happen extremely fast.
This is beyond democratization. Beyond customization. This is egoism.
But things might be about to change. Microsoft subtly suggests our relationship with technology is turning us into, well, you watch it.
And now we are getting caught cheating on everything from our spouses to the IRS on Facebook. Corporations like Porsche are also banning social network access because our need to brag about how great we are is resulting in espionage-like scenarios.
In fact software such as ‘Web 2.0’ describes itself as a “suicide machine” developed to wipe your social network slate clean.
Last but not least the TODAY show just launched a series on November 1st entitled ‘Is Civility Dead?’ and asking hard questions about what social media is doing to plain old manners.
But it doesn’t all need to die.
The benefits still outweigh the negatives. And we can’t blame technology alone anymore than we can blame it for childhood obesity. We are just over indulging in ourselves in this case – instead of fast food.
We have allowed technology to delude ourselves that we are busier and more important than anyone else.
It seems some of us have already been turned off by all of this narcissism and are moving on. The rest of us will need a little self-restraint and a refresher course in etiquette.
Just like the bottom of an email where it reads “think before you print.” We need a catchy ego-friendly campaign.
About the Author
Renée Whitworth is a strategic partner at Flood Creative in New York. Over the last 15 years she has developed a reputation for providing unique insights that help every facet of design come together with a singular, shared focus.