That's what I was thinking about, too. There's a lot that goes into it, from corporate policy to public school curriculum planning, but the younger generation is a lot less tech-savvy than mine. Most of them cannot type on a keyboard! Which is a thing I learned in high school, so it was something that was generally accepted as a skill every student needed to know - those priorities have changed over the years, and now it's either not considered an essential skill, or has been removed from the curriculum for other reasons. (Assumptions that, as computer ownership rose, it would be learned at home? If so, an assumption not corrected as people moved toward non-keyboard devices.) Corporations have also been steadily pushing 'black box' models of technology, because users who can do repairs or modify the product will buy less of it. (And are less likely to accept bizarre and abusive terms of service?)
We've seen it happen with cars already: repairing cars used to be something anyone could do with a toolbox and a manual, and now it requires proprietary chip readers and access to computer software that isn't sold to the public. Other tech is heading the same way; I can remember putting a neverending stream of batteries into my boom box as a young teen... and compare that to my first iPod, which told me that so much as opening the battery compartment would void the warranty.
Likewise, on social media control has been steadily taken away from users; privacy settings and control of the audience don't benefit companies, so companies have taken control of them. LJ gave us a panoply of ways to limit your audience and control who saw what you posted; but Twitter doesn't care if your post gets positive or negative engagement (up to and including actual harrassment), as long as it gets engagement, because that's revenue for Twitter.
Internet browsers provide too much control to the user, so more and more companies are pushing mobile apps, because apps give the user zero control over privacy or advertising or algorithms. You've already waived all your rights not to be tracked or marketed to on your mobile device, so companies would much rather you use that than a computer browser where you still have rights and options.
Newer tech users often don't have an instinctive 'this is something I should be able to fix' reaction when they encounter something unpleasant, because they've never had the ability to fix or modify their tech, and are frequently using a device that's been specifically designed not to allow it. My immediate first thought upon being hit with creepy tracking tech is, "I don't have to allow this! So how do I get around it?" But for many people, that's just a standard part of being online; it doesn't strike them as something unjust, or as something they have a right to opt out of, even if they dislike it.
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rosecarmine
(no subject)
Date: 2022-10-10 01:35 pm (UTC)We've seen it happen with cars already: repairing cars used to be something anyone could do with a toolbox and a manual, and now it requires proprietary chip readers and access to computer software that isn't sold to the public. Other tech is heading the same way; I can remember putting a neverending stream of batteries into my boom box as a young teen... and compare that to my first iPod, which told me that so much as opening the battery compartment would void the warranty.
Likewise, on social media control has been steadily taken away from users; privacy settings and control of the audience don't benefit companies, so companies have taken control of them. LJ gave us a panoply of ways to limit your audience and control who saw what you posted; but Twitter doesn't care if your post gets positive or negative engagement (up to and including actual harrassment), as long as it gets engagement, because that's revenue for Twitter.
Internet browsers provide too much control to the user, so more and more companies are pushing mobile apps, because apps give the user zero control over privacy or advertising or algorithms. You've already waived all your rights not to be tracked or marketed to on your mobile device, so companies would much rather you use that than a computer browser where you still have rights and options.
Newer tech users often don't have an instinctive 'this is something I should be able to fix' reaction when they encounter something unpleasant, because they've never had the ability to fix or modify their tech, and are frequently using a device that's been specifically designed not to allow it. My immediate first thought upon being hit with creepy tracking tech is, "I don't have to allow this! So how do I get around it?" But for many people, that's just a standard part of being online; it doesn't strike them as something unjust, or as something they have a right to opt out of, even if they dislike it.