Black Mirror is a speculative fiction anthology series created by Charlie Brooker in 2011 (Yazdizadeh, 2020). First launched by Britain’s Channel 4 and purchased by Netflix in 2015, the series centres around a depiction of the lives of individuals in a “futuristic, dystopian projection of the present” (Salem, 2015). Black Mirror expels the muddy relationship between humans and technology, critiquing current societies’ use of technology and acting as a cautionary tale for its dominance (Yazdizadeh, 2020). Season three’s episode, ‘Nosedive’ is an acute satire against the current social media obsession, in an alternative reality. The protagonist, Lacie lives in a seemingly Utopian world where each citizen has eye implants which interconnect with their smartphones and computers to allow for complete online sharing of one’s daily activities on their social media platforms (Salem, 2015). These actions are rated by others on a one-to-to-five-star scale, giving every individual an average score. These ratings, viewable to all do not operate in terms of popularity measures, but heightened, defining ones’ social and economic status, determining their access to commodities like plane tickets, car rentals and home purchases and access to health care and jobs (Sticchi, 2021). The current paper discusses the effects and outcomes of the injection of social media into contemporary society in relation to ‘Nosedive’ – a satirical extremisation of this current addiction to social media.
Does numbers equal status?
Lacie and the world of ‘Nosedive’ is a concretisation of the superficial and appearance dominated aspects of social media as everybody aims to sustain an amicable profile and embody desirable characteristics, with the goal of achieving a 5-star rating in order to “live a better life” (Yazdizadeh, 2020). This obsession with quantification can be seen in modern times, as the goal of many is to achieve as many likes or followers as possible on sites like Facebook and Instagram (Pardes, 2017). The “Insta-famous” wall mural on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles is guarded by security officers with a sign reading,
“Private mural. For verified influencers and people with over 20k followers only. Influencers, please tag us on social media.”
– “Instagram, Visual Social Media Cultures” by Leaver, Highfield and Abidin (2019)
Similarly, many teenagers using Instagram constantly curate and delete their uploaded photographs that they feel are less popular or “don’t receive enough likes”, in order to sustain the perpetual image of popularity (Godlewski, 2016). Thus, revealing the importance of one’s digital presence with the relationship between numbers and popularity or status in both the virtual and physical world.
Real life vs. Instagram life
Additionally, ‘Nosedive’ radiates a real-life Instagram, filled with homogeneity as everything is of a bright and pastel nature, extending to the décor, architecture and character’s clothes. Leaver et al., (2019) explain how cultures of Instagram have bled from the digital to the physical world as users aim to capture a moment “for the gram”. Museums, art galleries and restaurants have been specifically created as “Instagrammable sites”. For example, the Museum of Ice-cream comprises of backdrops specifically for photography and selfies. In an interview with Wired, founder Jordan Ferney said decisions such as lighting were made to “prioritise photographability for Instagram over real-life experiences” (Pardes, 2017). Similarly, a brunch café in Singapore updates their menu in conjunction with updates on the Instagram app. For example, when Instagram added short videos on its platform, the café created brightly coloured drinks that change colour when stirred – with the primary purpose to be filmed (Leaver et al., 2019).
Hess (2018) explains these experiences are just the secondary ones and the “real experience” is after the photo is posted on social media in anticipation for internets’ reactions, engagements and virtual validation. The superficiality of social media is extended in Deuze’s (2012) article, explaining being immersed in social media life gives people the opportunity to be an architect of their life. This gives people the ability to promote their ‘second life’, a different world from ones lived reality where “you are richer, younger, thinner and better dressed,” (Turkle, 2017). It is evident the great influence of digital platforms has caught individuals mediating between their real identity and their virtual identity.
The paranoia arising from social media
The all-consuming 5-star rating system in ‘Nosedive’ forces everyone to practice strict self-surveillance, as merely failing to smile back at someone passionately, can lead to a rating loss. This constant social and institutional gaze forces users to survey themselves, ensuring to post socially-validated content on virtual platforms and act correctly when exposed to others (Salem, 2015). Deuze (2012) explains how our lived reality cannot be experienced outside of media as the pervasiveness of media, society is constantly immersed in, liquidates the boundaries between the physical and virtual world. Deuze (2012) suggests we are living in a version of The Truman Show. The 1998 movie is about Truman Burbank who does not know his entire life is one big reality television show, with the people around him actors, staged to convince him he is living in a real world and watched by millions of viewers. The issue is raised from The Truman Show and Black Mirror’s ‘Nosedive’ that the pressure of living in a large, completely connected digital community, where people struggle to maintain the version of themselves created on social media has resulted in ones’ life being deprived of spontaneity due to the awareness of the possible scripted and broadcasted nature of other’s actions.
The effects of platformization
Social media and platformization don’t just facilitate these socio-cultural interactions between individuals mentioned previously, but organise and steer this interaction (Gillipesie, 2017). Kloet et al., (2019) discusses how the platformization of society is particularly evident in Chinese society, and through this, the penetration of governmental and economic influence into digital platforms. Platforms like WeChat have developed infrastructures like WeChat Pay, making ‘real money’ obsolete, almost completely replacing the previous banking system.
“WeChat Pay” by D123456789@matthews is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
The surveillence and control of data on these digital platforms are also being contested as government apps like Xuexi Qiangguo give users more points the more time they spend reading news articles about China and their president, Xi JinPing. Places of work and schools also encourage their groups to reach good scores. Also, Alibaba’s Alipay system is used in the app, shedding light on the invasive nature of the capital and the state in order to serve their interest whilst simultaneously controlling access to sensitive political issues (Kloet et al., 2019).
Conclusion
Black Mirror’s success rises from their blending of dystopian imagination into a shockingly relatable and familiar world, warning society about the potential implications of technology (Sticchi, 2021). The current paper, through the lens of ‘Nosedive’ lays bare how digital media platforms are increasingly permeating into society’s life through the platformization of reality, thus diminishing humanities connection with the ‘real-world’ and subsequently disrupting the nature of the human condition.
“Nosedive” by Business of Media is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Reference List
Salem, B. ‘Black Mirror: Technostruggles, Capitalism, and Media Culture in the United Kingdom’ MA Thesis, University of Lancaster, 2015 , p. 7.
Deuze, M., Blank, P., & Speers, L. (2012). A life lived in media. Digital humanities quarterly, 6(1)
Gillespie, T. (2010). The politics of ‘platforms’. New media & society, 12(3), 347-364.
Godlewski, N. (2016). “If you have over 25 photos on Instagram, you’re no longer cool”. Business Insider, 27 May.
Hess, A (2018). “The existential void of the pop-up “experience”.
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/teens-curate-their-instagram-accounts-2016-5
Jeroen de Kloet, Thomas Poell, Zeng Guohua & Chou You Fai (2019), ’The platformization of Chinese Society: infrastructure, governance, and practice’, Chinese Journal of Communication 12(3), pp. 249-256
Leaver, T., Highfield, T., & Abidin, C. (2020). Instagram: Visual social media cultures. John Wiley & Sons.
Pardes, A. (2017). “The rise of the made-for-Instagram museum”.
Wired, 27 September. https://www.wired.com/story/selfe-factories-instagram-museum/
Sticchi, F. (2021). Black Mirror and Nosedive: Becoming Algorithm. In Mapping Precarity in Contemporary Cinema and Television (pp. 91-104). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Turkle, S. (2017). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other. Hachette UK.
Yazdizadeh, A. (2020). In and Out of the Black Mirror; an Ideological Investigation into ‘Nosedive.’. Limina, 25(1), 16-28.
Salem, ‘Black Mirror: Technostruggles, Capitalism, and Media Culture in the United Kingdom’ MA Thesis, University of Lancaster, 2015 , p. 7.
Pardes, A. (2017). “The rise of the made-for-Instagram museum”.
Wired, 27 September. https://www.wired.com/story/selfe-factories-instagram-museum/
Hess, A (2018). “The existential void of the pop-up “experience”.
The New York Times, 26 September.
Godlewski, N. (2016). “If you have over 25 photos on Instagram, you’re no longer cool”. Business Insider, 27 May.
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/teens-curate-their-instagram-accounts-2016-5
Jeroen de Kloet, Thomas Poell, Zeng Guohua & Chou You Fai (2019), ’The platformization of Chinese Society: infrastructure, governance, and practice’, Chinese Journal of Communication 12(3), pp. 249-256
Gillespie, T. (2010). The politics of ‘platforms’. New media & society, 12(3), 347-364.
Yazdizadeh, A. (2020). In and Out of the Black Mirror; an Ideological Investigation into ‘Nosedive.’. Limina, 25(1), 16-28.
Sticchi, F. (2021). Black Mirror and Nosedive: Becoming Algorithm. In Mapping Precarity in Contemporary Cinema and Television (pp. 91-104). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Turkle, S. (2017). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other. Hachette UK.