Blog 03: HYPER-REALITY





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HYPER-REALITY is a hyperbolic representation of how pervasive technologies can continually weave itself ubiquitously into our lives through technological affordances that supposedly make our lives easier. The video blurs fiction and nonfiction as the technology shown mirrors the applications and tools we use on our smartphones, but taken a step further there is no mediation between an individual and the digital interactive world. Social media and its implications bleed into how we socialize in real life, HYPER-REALITY sandwiches these two worlds together in a very consumerist way. The video touches upon things existent in our digital landscape such as the gamification of social media and consumer interaction with products. In the first few minutes of the video, there are loyalty points that incentivize users continually interact and be good consumers. This echoes today's follower count and insatiable chase for clout, pursuing the desire to accumulate a higher count in order to extract some personal value and identity. The user is bombarded with infinite messages and signs, all which are interactive and open to customization for the user. The notion of pseudo-individuality via technology is present in this video, as consumers feel individualistic in the ways they're able to customize and adjust their settings to their preferences, there is a false illusion of control and autonomy.

In many ways, the dizzying amount of messages and content that goes by the viewer's eyes are intended to make their lives easier. This includes using augmented reality to display safety boundaries, traffic lines, commercial store directions and other symbols for the ease of the user. The utility of such interconnectivity is dwarfed by its purpose to sell to consumers, where it's shown the user sees more fluff and commercials than actual products. The video goes into other concepts of self-identity within the hyper-reality, showing the user walking up to a Catholic statue and "leveling up" their Catholicism. The theme of gamification is present in this video, but also rampant in the social media hubs that we inhabit and continually interact with.

Despite the video being non-fictional,  do you believe we are heading closer to a world similar to HYPER-REALITY? If not, what would the future look like considering the preexisting conditions of gamification, ubiquitous technologies and digital interactivity? Does this seem likely or less likely to happen in a several decades from now? Or what did you find interesting in the video?

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 16, 2018 at 7:04 AM

    Great blog post! I really enjoyed watching the video, and realizing that what was being depicted in this short film does not seem all that false to where our reality is headed in the future. I feel that our world is headed towards a hyper-reality, as we are already so engrossed with our phones and technology as a whole. Technology is constantly improving and being built in order to make our lives easier. With this being said, I can see how the person who created this video feels our world could potentially become hyper-real. This is because not only are things like cellphones and computers becoming more advanced, but kitchen appliances, cars, bedrooms, lights, are also becoming more advanced, and are only going to improve further with technology. This is why the ideology of hyper-reality is not far off, and could very easily be where our future is headed. Overall this was a really interesting post and I enjoyed reading it! Good work!

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