Leapfrog's Journal: Technology and the downfall of modern society

I recently asked my wife why it seems that every time I want a simple service (i.e. telephone service, cable TV, power, credit, banking, apartments, etc, etc) there is always a choice between two or three gigantic mega-corporations who own the entire industry for that service and that are bent on screwing the customer at every turn. It seems that no matter how much I complain, the customer service just gets worse. The obvious solution, to change service providers, isn't even an option anymore because I would just change to a different giant faceless corporation with the same lack of simple morals. The discussion led us to the matter of trust.

One hundred years ago, people shopped at locally owned grocery stores, bought locally manufactured goods, and received services from local companies. Customer service was important because the customer is your neighbor. If you fail to serve the customer, your business fails. If you fail to engender trust among your customers, your business fails. Advertisement was much less prevalent, and often was of the form of news. People wanted to see advertisements about products and services because they could trust the ads to give them useful, truthful information about those products and services. Businesses which were not trustworthy did not survive.

If this were still the case, certain properties would be evident. For instance: Customers would not be faced with endless phone-mazes designed to keep them from talking to operators. Giant corporate scandals, such as what happened to Enron, would not happen as often. Lifestyle advertisements would not exist; Companies would sell products and services, not lifestyles. Consumer complaints would be addressed and corrected rather than ignored. Companies would be subjected to fewer lawsuits stemming from advertisements displaying their product used in frivolous, excessive or impractical ways.

It should be clear that now companies are not concerned with trustworthiness. This metric of business success has been replaced with a new, more dubious metric-- shareholder value. If it makes the stock price go up, it is good for business regardless of the societal, political, economical or moral consequences of the action. A point came, some time the twentieth century, when advertisement stopped being information and started being instruction.

People now are being given instructions (around 300 each day!) in the form of television, radio, print, billboards, fashion, and any other method by which an advertiser can put the message into your brain. The message is simple; You are not complete without our product. It comes in many forms, but the message is the same. The instruction is that in order to live a happy, satisfied, fulfilled life you must wear Nike shoes, Right Guard deodorant, and Polo cologne. To be a well-balanced person you must drink Coke, Pepsi, Coors, Miller Lite, and Mike's Hard Lemonade. In order to attract other people you must smoke Marlboro's, drive a Tahoe, wear Wranglers, and eat at Hardee's, McDonald's, Arby's, and Taco Bell. These instructions rarely give any information at all; they merely deliver the potent message of the viewer's inadequacy, then slip into subconscious memory.

People don't bowl anymore. Social interactions are at an all-time low. We are paranoid, concerned about the dangers around every corner, and lulled into a false sense of security by our powerful, dangerous vehicles. We worry more than ever what our neighbors think, but we never speak to the neighbors, much less spend time with them. Our insecurites are fed by a hyperactive youth media, advertisements focused on the increasingly disillusioned and untrusting generation. Our society has been lied to so many times that we are numb to the lies. Corporations invent bigger and bolder lies to try to get our attentions.

The end result? Culture has been replaced by advertisements. Even television programming is an advertisement in itself. "For thirty minutes each week we'll be your best friend, your old companion, your trusted comrade, in exchange for a few moments of diversion-- these few words from our sponsors." So they use your desire for familiarity to bring you back for more ads, again and again. Conversation is filled with buzzwords. Consumerism is the new religion. Those who don't subscribe to sports are ostracized, left out. Missed this week's episode of Seinfeld? You get left out of the coffee break discussion. If you didn't listen to Bob and Tom this morning, you won't understand why people keep repeating that stupid joke all day long. If you don't subscibe to their mindset, you are an outcast.

Must see TV. Just do it. Girls gone wild. Welcome to flavor country. You deserve a break today. Always the low price. Expect more. Less filling. Have it your way. Are you ready?

Surprise. Your culture has just been replaced with Folgers crystals. Let's see if you notice.