Sara Wickström Essay - Surveillance Capitalism PDF

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Sara Wickström Global Management Stockholm Business School Business, Politics and Culture (7,5 ECTS) Head of Course: Nick Butler 2018-04-28 Surveillance Capitalism Word Count: 1073 Introduction In today’s capitalistic society, where revenue greatly stems from advertising, companies need information ...

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Sara Wickström Global Management Stockholm Business School

Business, Politics and Culture (7,5 ECTS) Head of Course: Nick Butler 2018-04-28

Surveillance Capitalism Word Count: 1073

Introduction In today’s capitalistic society, where revenue greatly stems from advertising, companies need information to improve their marketing strategies. Consequently, making data the most valuable existing commodity (The Economist, 2017). As a result of the emerging neoliberal vision and development of The Internet, a new genus of capitalism has rapidly grown. Zuboff (2016) considers this phenomenon as surveillance capitalism. In what ways does this concept

Figure 1: Social media and international communication research (Amsterdam Center for Social Media, 2013).

Sara Wickström Global Management Stockholm Business School

Business, Politics and Culture (7,5 ECTS) Head of Course: Nick Butler 2018-04-28

of surveillance capitalism affect our society and does it generate opportunities rather than contributing to a dystopian civilization?

Comfort at the cost of information Surveillance capitalism enables companies to acquire unique information about individuals, analyse it and predict the users’ behaviour. A positive aspect is consequently that it can contribute to products that are likely to satisfy users’ needs, and thus produce a comfortable online user experience that is more personalised. Moreover, surveillance capitalism leads to more satisfied customers, as they are not overwhelmed with ads about products they have no interest in (Zuboff, 2015: 83).

While Facebook claim their core idea is to connect people and build communities, they are primarily an advertising company with monetary objectives. While connecting people, Facebook heavily monitor the online activities and uses this data to base and sell their advertisement. As Facebook has the ability to monitor every interaction on their platform, the company sees you, everywhere. Furthermore, this advertising enterprise is regarded the biggest surveillance-based company ever known (Lanchester, 2017: 12).

Social networks and identity making The reason behind the success of Facebook is the company’s awareness of how individual’s minds work, particularly the social dynamics of status and popularity. The Silicon Valley profile Peter Thiel claims, “We are keen to be seen as we want to be seen, and Facebook is the most popular tool humanity has ever had with which to do that”. He argues that imitation is the essence of human behaviour, and that there is a need to copy and compare (Lanchester, 2017: 4).

The Circle is a dystopian fiction written by Eggers (2013). The novel reflects upon today’s society as it captures the critical direction Silicon Valley is taking and how our modern society adapts accordingly. One of the social media tools introduced in the novel is Zing. It can be compared with social networks such as Facebook or Instagram, as it also provides the emotion of instant validation. It is possible to receive followers, comments, and share other Zings in the feed. The users will be ranked in the Participation Ranking System, which is a platform that measures social commitment, similar to Instagram, and is highly addictive.

Sara Wickström Global Management Stockholm Business School

Business, Politics and Culture (7,5 ECTS) Head of Course: Nick Butler 2018-04-28

The power of online behaviour Similar to people in reality, employees at The Circle (Eggers, 2013) are connected to a cloud. All data is stored, always accessible and constantly updated into a server. Relatedly, because of the accessible data on social networks, it is easy to connect with people that share similar views and beliefs. Facebook’s mission to connect can nevertheless turn out to be hazardous to society when likeminded people engage in online “filter bubbles” and foster fake news. As a consequence, Facebook has received criticism for influencing the outcome of the US presidential election of 2016 (Lanchester, 2017: 17). Facebook harvested 50 million profiles for the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica in a major data breach earlier this year. The company exploited personal information at the cost of users’ trust and has resulted in major moral and legal concerns (Schneider, 2018).

Eggers (2013) use Mercer, the protagonist Mae’s ex-boyfriend, as an antagonist to prove the danger of modernity. Mercer states that “Individually, you don’t know what you’re doing collectively” (p. 259), which is an accurate statement regarding the capability and power of information online. Facebook users’ trust the company with personal information and does not understand the crucial impact of their “clicks” (Lanchester, 2017: 13).

The disappearing workplace and its consequences Another aspect of consideration, regarding surveillance capitalism, is mental illness. With an increased surveillance, there is a rise of liquidity; employees are expected to work from multiple environments (Dale and Burrell, 2008: 117). The character of labour is changing fundamentally and according to Pongrats and Voss (2003), a new type of labour power called entreployee is replacing the typical employee. In recent years, changes with neoliberal character have spread and a strong competition in the marketplace has developed.

The disappearing workplace may be perceived as a positive development since it enables a new demographic group to enter the labour market (Johns and Gratton, 2013: 2), but there are reasons to be sceptical about it. The constant need to always be available and make improvement can cause stress and imbalance between work and private life (Pongrats and Voss, 2003). Furthermore, it can result in workaholism, stress and alienation (Dale and Burrell, 2008). This is vividly illustrated in The Circle (Eggers, 2013: 351 – 355 & 489)

Sara Wickström Global Management Stockholm Business School

Business, Politics and Culture (7,5 ECTS) Head of Course: Nick Butler 2018-04-28

where Mae’s best friend initially is portrayed as a superwoman who is working non-stop, and eventually ends up in a coma due to stress and constant management pressure.

The Circle (Eggers, 2013) exemplifies a company where the line between work and private life is unclear. Employees at The Circle are victims of surveillance capitalism, as no one can escape the gaze of the web and avoid being observed, evaluated, and monetised at all times. There are numerous social activities found on campus in which the employees are expected to regularly attend. All necessities required outside of work can be found on campus, making it possible never to leave.

Conclusion It is clear that surveillance capitalism impact individuals’ lives on multiple levels. Whether this phenomenon constitutes an advantage or disadvantage is nonetheless debatable. It can appear as an anti-democratic force that causes stress, manipulation and threatens the political order. Simultaneously it enhances the efficiency of online consumption, enables people to express themselves and challenge norms.

The Circle (Eggers, 2013) describes a neoliberal company that encourage individualistic control with decreased involvement of the government. It is paradoxical how neoliberalism emphasizes freedom as the main objective for society (Schneider, 2018; Zuboff, 2016), while in reality it may contribute to a dystopian society. The freedom is disappearing due to the emergence of large capitalistic corporations taking over the power.

An on-going debate and awareness of the vast surveillance in society is highly important. In contrary to Mae, one must question the system and authoritarians. Moreover, understand that it is possible to influence the developments; it is up to individuals to take action and shape the transformation in a way they find preferable. After all, it is about whether we will be the masters of information, or its slaves.

Bibliography

Sara Wickström Global Management Stockholm Business School

Business, Politics and Culture (7,5 ECTS) Head of Course: Nick Butler 2018-04-28

Dale, K. Burrel, G. (2008) Building people: Identities and space. The spaces of organisation and the organisation of space. London: Palgrave, p. 98-133.

Eggers, D. (2013). The Circle. Penguin Books. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Johns, T. & Gratton, L. (2013). The third wave of virtual work. Harvard Business Review, Jan-Feb.

Lanchester, J. (2017). You Are the Product. London Review Of Books, 39(16), pp. 1-15.

Pongratz, H.J. & Voss, G.G. (2003). From employee to ‘entreployee’: Towards a ‘selfentrepreneurial work force?, Concepts and Transformations, 8(3).

The Economist, (2017). The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data. [online] Available at: https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21721656-data-economy-demandsnew-approach-antitrust-rules-worlds-most-valuable-resource (Accessed 2018-04-28)

Zuboff, S. (2015). Big other: surveillance capitalism and the prospects of an information civilization. Journal of Information Technology, 30(1), pp.75-89.

Zuboff, S. (2016). Google as a Fortune Teller: The Secrets of Surveillance Capitalism. [online] Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Available at: http://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/debatten/the-digital-debate/shoshana-zuboff-secrets-ofsurveillance-capitalism-14103616.html (Accessed 2018-04-28).

Schneider, A. (2018). Lecture 3: The rise of corporate power. Stockholm: Stockholm Business School. 2018-03-28

Schneider, A. (2018). Lecture 10: Conclusion and outlook. Stockholm: Stockholm Business School. 2018-04-25...