There’s an episode of the TV series Black Mirror where every human can rate any other human for anything. It creates a social ranking system that determines that entire direction of your life. The episode features a woman whose ranking plummets because of a series of small catastrophes that grow larger.
“nearly everybody I meet comes with a slobbering impatience for my verdict. What do you think? How did I do? Could I have been better? Businesses have adopted the mentality of the most insecure teenagers, forever looking at themselves in the mirror, forever asking whether something is wrong, forever worrying that you’ll never come back, forever demanding that you tell them what you’re thinking.”
This is a private equity world run by accountants. Each rating is a way to track “service levels”, hit KPIs and data mine for free: an “objective” way to pay employees less or cut them loose bc customer ratings slipping....
What's stupid is that I literally just rate every driver 5 stars to get rid of the screen and any followup notifications.
Also it makes sense that surveillance capitalism results in distrust and watchfulness. Literally is how the panopticon is supposed to work. It's a common knowledge game, you have to watch the watchers in order to not get called out for doing something suspicious like not watching.
I am asked to “rate” the most mundane transactions when i swipe my card at food places that don’t really deserve a tip yet ask for one. Am I that No Tip guy. Not really in a generous tipper when it’s warranted. Can we get another category up on that screen perhaps “Defer” or “Tips Elsewhere”?
Really enjoyed reading this! The driver-dentist quip cracked me up. And couldn't agree more with your observations about the ubiquitous rating culture.
We don’t do enough talking to one another. Everything is digitized now. It feels like our humanity is fraying at times. And yes, there are those who delight in abusing others just to feel important or better about themselves.
There’s an episode of the TV series Black Mirror where every human can rate any other human for anything. It creates a social ranking system that determines that entire direction of your life. The episode features a woman whose ranking plummets because of a series of small catastrophes that grow larger.
https://youtu.be/R32qWdOWrTo?si=LudaxZxSmlDUE3k-
“nearly everybody I meet comes with a slobbering impatience for my verdict. What do you think? How did I do? Could I have been better? Businesses have adopted the mentality of the most insecure teenagers, forever looking at themselves in the mirror, forever asking whether something is wrong, forever worrying that you’ll never come back, forever demanding that you tell them what you’re thinking.”
This is a private equity world run by accountants. Each rating is a way to track “service levels”, hit KPIs and data mine for free: an “objective” way to pay employees less or cut them loose bc customer ratings slipping....
Great piece, Charles. 🙏
What's stupid is that I literally just rate every driver 5 stars to get rid of the screen and any followup notifications.
Also it makes sense that surveillance capitalism results in distrust and watchfulness. Literally is how the panopticon is supposed to work. It's a common knowledge game, you have to watch the watchers in order to not get called out for doing something suspicious like not watching.
I am asked to “rate” the most mundane transactions when i swipe my card at food places that don’t really deserve a tip yet ask for one. Am I that No Tip guy. Not really in a generous tipper when it’s warranted. Can we get another category up on that screen perhaps “Defer” or “Tips Elsewhere”?
For me, it’s either 5 stars or I don’t rate them. I just give another human a lower rating. It’s not in me.
I really enjoyed this.
Really enjoyed reading this! The driver-dentist quip cracked me up. And couldn't agree more with your observations about the ubiquitous rating culture.
We don’t do enough talking to one another. Everything is digitized now. It feels like our humanity is fraying at times. And yes, there are those who delight in abusing others just to feel important or better about themselves.
I "liked" this article. That seems "counter-something"