Feed - M.T. Anderson

• How close are we to the society of Feed? Are our present systems (Google tracking,single accounts into multiple services...) a simple precursor?

As time passes society as we know it is becoming more and more reliant on digital technology.Gone are the days of the abacus and long division. Nowadays, a student is much more likely to grab a calculator, create a spreadsheet, or locate a website to compute a basic formula. However, I don't believe this reliance will evolve into the society depicted by M.T Anderson, or at least I hope it doesn't :/

It is hard to imagine a society where literacy is viewed as a novelty, where schools are corporately owned, where it is more socially acceptable to chat online that in person, where traditional family values are completely lost, and all media is funneled through one source, creating a monotoned view of the world. However, when dissected, some of the technological concepts didn't seem to far from today's society.

People nowadays are often found driving and surfing through music carried on a portable digital player, chatting on their bluetooth wireless ear piece, or receiving directions from a GPS device. The idea of multi-tasking has driven a number of software developers to re-evaluate many single service tools, opting to consolidate various tools into a more efficient and robust package. The examples I could possible set forth here are limitless, but since we have recently witnessed Google's world takeover :), I will choose two of their services.

For example, Google Analytics, is a great tool for evaluating the performance of a website. A user can determine the keywords searched, benchmark competitors, and determine where the site may need improvements. When such a service is integrated with another such as Google Adwords it becomes even more powerful. Google Adwords would then be responsible for advertising marketing campaigns that would drive visitors to the site.

• What struck you most about the society of Feed? (e.g. acceptance of lesions, twist on the Digital Divide, people don't know how to write...)

It is really difficult to say what struck me most about Feed. Of course the state of the environment was a bit disheartening, the lack of greenery, organically grown food, natural light, and oxygen for that matter was very alarming. Then there was the complete lack of self reliance, where the human mind was replaced with the virtual mind of the feed leaving most with the lack of ability to read and write. Or the things teens will do to stay hip and popular, while making all the right fashion sacrifices. And of course the affects technology had on disjointing society on various levels. The divide among the "have's" and "have not's" of the feed and the social pressure affiliated with conformity to the majority. The lack of family bonds that exist in a traditional family replaced by distant chatting about superficiality etc.


But after I really thought about the book's storyline, I guess what struck me most was the lack of a fairy tale ending. :) My expectation of course was that technology was going to swoop in and save the day. I thought Violet would surely receive the upgrade she desperately needed, but sadly that never happened. Is there a bigger message to the reason M.T. Anderson chose to discontinue my favorite character perhaps, but I'll take the simple one of technology can't always save everything.