CCTV Issues
At the beginning of the episode, we are introduced to a girl who has no recollection of her identity, this is gradually revealed through a series of clues throughout the program. From the outset, we notice that the public follow her wherever they can and are glued to their mobiles or camera. They are filming her. This links into the idea of no privacy in our present day, a prominent issue relating to our sharing habits on social network sites, and the idea that we are being watched on CCTV cameras as we move about our daily lives. In this episode, we are given the impression that some kind of symbol and the mobile transmitters are to blame for the public filming the girl's every move, and this reflects what has become a seemingly normal habit in today's society. Not only are we constantly captured by CCTV, but there are huge numbers of people who make YouTube videos, containing footage of events they have encountered, a few examples of this could include racist remarks on public transport, of which there have been a few cases in recent months. It is this idea that we are constantly being watching which creates an element of fear in the protagonist of the episode, this combined with her lack of identity make her scared, and wonder what it is they want to see. This can be linked to social networking because people are constantly being judged, whether it be their latest facebook profile picutre, or a YouTube video, people like and comment on video and often have little disreguard for the effects of their judgements on the indivual it is directed at, resulting in disastrus consequences at times.
Lack of Privacy
We can also look at the lack of privacy encountered in social networking websites. The most popular websites such as Facebook and Twitter allow you to post your location in a matter of seconds, letting anyone on the internet know where you are. Facebook has received bad press about this in the past, because it was believed their privacy settings were too complicated for user's to understand and not accessible enough. At least with Facebook people have some control, yes, you in theory could just be speaking to somebody who has set up an account under your friend's name, but you can choose whether to accept their friend request in the first place. We can link this to the Black Mirror episode by looking at how the protagonist's location is always known by the public, because of cctv cameras and the footage captured by them, which we assume are shared on social networking sites within the program. Twitter on the other hand encourages users to be much more open, and although they do allow users to 'protect' their tweets, it is often felt that with more followers, you are more popular. People set out to get more followers just so they have a bigger number next to their name, there is evidence of this in the number of 're-tweet this to get 100 followers' tweets which appear on user's timelines frequently. There is no consideration of the people which may follow you, and this allows people's information to be read my many, perhaps this is not such a good thing but highlights how we are so used to this habit. In the episode, we can see that the protagonist literally is always being followed and has no escape or privacy, whereever she goes, she is being watched and monitored, perhaps this could be viewed as a representation of how we are in society today, constantly posting updates of our daily lives on the internet, for the enjoyment and entertainment of others.
Spectators
Another way in which our privacy in society today is under threat, is by spectators, people are just watching others when they are need, this is evident in the episode when everybody is not helping the protagonist, despite her previous actions, you would expect some sympathy, however the public just film the entire event instead, so that it can be viewed by there on the Internet. This is not an effective way of dealing with the problem, because not only does the covarge escalate the problem and make it appear much bigger than it really is, but it also allows people to anaylise it afterwards, when it could have been stopped straight away. This is important when looking at the influences of social networking because on various websites, it is common for people to just watch horrible or inappropriate comments be made directed at an individual and allow it to happen, nobody tells them to stop, and in many cases it is actually considered to be a joke. There is evidence of this in the episode when the audience laugh at the protagonist tied up on stage, they want her to suffer because of her previous actions.
Internet Trolls
Unfortunately, internet trolls are a large issue in today's soceity, especially when it comes to social networking. On Facebook, it is common for RIP pages to be set up to remember loved ones who have passed away, sometimes they can follow unpleasant events, such as a murder which has been featured in the press, drawing more attention to it. It is this attention that internet trolls crave, they seek a reaction from those in mourning, or those who feel strongly about the person the page is set up for. Internet trolls will post harmful messages on the pages, since they are public and accessable by anyone, and this causes distress for the family of the deceased. Some internet trolls will post horrific pictures, perhaps of photoshoped images, they believe to be 'funny' which sparks a reaction. It is this reaction they seek, and for them, it makes them worth it. In recent years there has been a huge issue with internet trolls, as there was no consequences for the people behind these dispicable acts. This not only allowed them to do it annonomously, but without having to serve any punishment otherwise. Thankfully, in society the police are now trying to crack down on internet trolls, however it still occurs. When viewing the episode of Black Mirror, I though that the 'hunters' were like an internet troll type figure. They did what they liked, no matter how bad, and had an audience, they were getting a reaction. This is like trolls because they feel they can post whatever they like, and their audience is anybody who reads that page. The reaction to the 'hunters' in the episode was quite positive from the public, at points even making them laugh, this is perhaps a reflection of how people may see internet trolls but do nothing about it as a preventative. They are once again, a spectator.
Another characteristic of internet trolls is the idea that they have no compassion or sympathy, they are simply attempting to make something humerous, trying to gain something, a reaction - or possibly some kind of acceptance? This can be seen in the episode when the other characters do not express sympathy for the protagnosit, despite her confusion about her identity and cries for help.
Overall, by using the episode of Black mirror as a basis for this investigation into social networking, it is clear there are three main areas which we could use as an influence in our trailer. All three would present opportunities for filming and I think we should strongly consider this topic.
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