I've been meaning to write about this book, Super Sad True Love Story http://supersadtruelovestory.com/, by Gary Shteyngart, for some time. It's one of those books that love it or hate it, you can't escape it. It offers a haunting and dystopic glimpse into our future as a society dependent on technology, or as Shteyngart calls it, the apparat.
The apparat is a device, much like our smart phones, that lives on people's hips guiding them what to do, what to buy, where to live, what to wear. It can also broadcast your fu**ability score to those around you, beam up your financial and health information to nearby light stands for all to see and if that wasn't enough, you can broadcast yourself anytime of day to your thousands of "friends." Sound familiar? I thought it did. Facebook already allows users to broadcast their location and just in case you need MORE friends, apparently facebook has an app out soon that will connect with your friends friends in person. Say you're at a pub. A friend of a friend is sitting near by. You're both gazing into your apparats, sorry smart phones, oblivious and oh so lonely. And bing, bing, bing (hear three bells here) facebook, oh glorious fbook, will connect you, let you know your compatibility score with prospective new friend just three bar stools away. What's next, an app to tell you what to say word for word when you meet new friend of a friend?
Shteyngart's apparat also allows the government to track you. And yes, we are being tracked. Companies know where we've been online, where we're likely to go, and with each day more digital footprints paint a path of who we are, what we do, what we buy and how we vote.
In the book characters are empty shells, unfeeling, dispassionate souls seeking connections through the Internet and through their online personas. No one talks, they text. No one reads, books stink. And everybody is busy ranking and being ranked. In Shteyngart's world technology aims to make people happier but it's clear more people are disconnected, lonely and ultimately much sadder. I was astounded by the parallels between our own versions of Utube and other social media sites and how people continue to search for answers and a sense of belonging online.
This book is a warning, one part fascinating and one part alarming. A must read for future citizens of the Inter webs.
Links worth a glimpse:
Interview with Gary Shteyngart. Definitely worth the read.
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/10/will-social-media-make-us-anti-social-a-talk-with-gary-shteyngart/247373/
Technology columinst for the Daily Telegraph in the UK and her take on the Super Sad True Love Story:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/blackberry/8822808/A-vision-of-life-without-my-BlackBerry.html
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