There are those who are aware of it and those who are not. And perhaps that is the key to getting out of it. Or perhaps it is only so for “us” who have in truth already been through it, fallen all the way in, and then managed to climb back out and detox ourselves from it. But to what extent can this permeate and influence our lives, down to every smallest thing — reactions, thoughts, attitudes? Completely. And when do we manage to realise this? If ever it even happens. Are we still in time? Perhaps, speaking personally, each one of us would say yes; for my part, without a doubt. But for this society, for all of humanity, I now harbour serious doubts — if not outright no hope at all. It will unfortunately be an ever-growing crescendo. Web 2.0 surrounds us, haunts us, subjugates us. We have it everywhere. Through the computer at home, at the office, on our mobile phones, wandering through shops, through the gaming console, on television. We will reach the point where we can vocally command our home to change our Facebook status the way Jimi in Nirvana used to tell his to run him a hot bath. It is so pervasive, so invasive, that it turns up in your everyday life constantly and continuously, like brushing your teeth in the morning before you go out. And when small sensations, connected to real, living people, yet mediated through this tool, pass through your soul and body — then you understand you have reached that point. The point at which you must reclaim your life entirely, without it being falsified, altered, and dissociated, and without the lives of others — perhaps even people you no longer wanted to be connected to in any way — interfering with your own.
“When we reach the point where online anonymity has ended, instead of getting to be who we really are, the fact that we’ve become so aware of the fact that we’re always being recorded, photographed, tracked, and traced, will have actually created a slightly altered personality instead. Like reality TV show contestants, the act of being observed will change our behavior. Our personal brand image will become our public identity and therefore our identity”
[ Soundtrack Radiohead - In Rainbows ]