Persuasion or Coercion?
So I've been reading the chapter in Mr Fogg's book on the power of a more connected world to persuade people...and I am not sure I like what I am reading.
He offers several examples that seem to be positive, but as I considered it more, what he is envisioning sounds rather insidious. I found the example about AlternaTV particularly unsettling because it seems very plausible. In his example, a group of parents decide that their children should be encouraged to watch less TV, so using the power of a connected world, the group would uses the three stated motivators (Competition, Cooperation, Recognition) to persuade children to watch less.
The part that I find unsettling is that it is using peer pressure to force people to conform to an idea that is not proven to be beneficial nor necessary. Watching more than 5 hours of TV a week that is educational in value is probably very beneficial. But what if the issue is something more controversial, like the teaching of Evolution in schools?
As Fogg says:
He offers several examples that seem to be positive, but as I considered it more, what he is envisioning sounds rather insidious. I found the example about AlternaTV particularly unsettling because it seems very plausible. In his example, a group of parents decide that their children should be encouraged to watch less TV, so using the power of a connected world, the group would uses the three stated motivators (Competition, Cooperation, Recognition) to persuade children to watch less.
The part that I find unsettling is that it is using peer pressure to force people to conform to an idea that is not proven to be beneficial nor necessary. Watching more than 5 hours of TV a week that is educational in value is probably very beneficial. But what if the issue is something more controversial, like the teaching of Evolution in schools?
As Fogg says:
"Connected computing products gain power to persuade"But for me, the networked technology he describes can be used to place enormous pressure on people to conform to a single point of view. What he describes as 'co-operation' sounds an awful lot like coercion to me, an electronic version of witch hunts and lynch mobs. How do we place sufficient limits to stop technology stifling instead of encouraging freedom?
1 Comments:
As we move beyond the cell phone and towards ubiquitous technology/computing the immersion in an enviornment could become coercive. After all, I know I sure want to drink Pepsi, although I like Coke better.
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