The flashing green alert woke me from my sleep just after 4:00 A.M.. I rolled over to see my wife’s status flashing green with a smiling face, representing happiness; she must be having a good dream I thought. I still couldn’t get used to these StatusBubble(TM) displays.
In the mid-21st century the largest social media companies had merged, forming a mega corporation. A few months later they unveiled the newest technology in social media, real-time status displays.
No longer did a person have to “tweet” or update their status. Instead a small microchip read brain signals and shared what the person was thinking and feeling through a holographic display just above their heads. It also had the capabilities to upload moments seen through the eyes as pictures and videos, as well as a host of other features. Some people smarter than myself had even figured out how to hack into the devices and make them do just about anything.
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As the 21st century continued, more and more people shared every facet of their lives online. These websites had started as a means for communicating with friends and had slowly evolved into something sinister. It wasn’t uncommon for people in 2015 to sit in groups of 10 or more not speaking to one another, but texting, tweeting, Instagramming, and Snapchatting. Some psychologists, and most parents, feared the generation brought up with these tools would lose the ability to communicate face-to-face.
And so it was 15 years later. There were no secrets anymore. A person could look at anyone’s status around them and know exactly what they were thinking and feeling. One of the unforeseen consequences was the elimination of crime. Everyone knew what you were planning all the time, making it difficult to kill or rob. These status bubbles also eliminated the need or ability to lie. It has always been known 90% of communication is non-verbal; but now that the non-verbal was projected wherever we went, everyone was forced to tell the truth.
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I was one of the few who opted out of the installation when it was offered free in the late 2030s. I had never been one to voluntarily broadcast my every thought and action to the world, and certainly didn’t want a machine doing it for me now. People like me were called Harkbackers, because we yearned for a time before this constant broadcasting of thoughts and emotions.
I enjoyed being out of the mainstream. I didn’t want to be defiant, but had never been one to follow trends. Because of this, the news that evening sent a chill down my spine. The President announced he had signed into law a rule stipulating all American citizens were required to have a StatusBubble(TM) device installed. He believed it would be the death knell for all crimes and he looked forward to a country where everyone could live without fear. Just as I rolled over to go back to sleep I heard a banging on the door. I knew what this was and I slowly rose and dressed, resigning myself to my fate.
By this time tomorrow I would be one of the masses.
In the mid-21st century the largest social media companies had merged, forming a mega corporation. A few months later they unveiled the newest technology in social media, real-time status displays.
No longer did a person have to “tweet” or update their status. Instead a small microchip read brain signals and shared what the person was thinking and feeling through a holographic display just above their heads. It also had the capabilities to upload moments seen through the eyes as pictures and videos, as well as a host of other features. Some people smarter than myself had even figured out how to hack into the devices and make them do just about anything.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the 21st century continued, more and more people shared every facet of their lives online. These websites had started as a means for communicating with friends and had slowly evolved into something sinister. It wasn’t uncommon for people in 2015 to sit in groups of 10 or more not speaking to one another, but texting, tweeting, Instagramming, and Snapchatting. Some psychologists, and most parents, feared the generation brought up with these tools would lose the ability to communicate face-to-face.
And so it was 15 years later. There were no secrets anymore. A person could look at anyone’s status around them and know exactly what they were thinking and feeling. One of the unforeseen consequences was the elimination of crime. Everyone knew what you were planning all the time, making it difficult to kill or rob. These status bubbles also eliminated the need or ability to lie. It has always been known 90% of communication is non-verbal; but now that the non-verbal was projected wherever we went, everyone was forced to tell the truth.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was one of the few who opted out of the installation when it was offered free in the late 2030s. I had never been one to voluntarily broadcast my every thought and action to the world, and certainly didn’t want a machine doing it for me now. People like me were called Harkbackers, because we yearned for a time before this constant broadcasting of thoughts and emotions.
I enjoyed being out of the mainstream. I didn’t want to be defiant, but had never been one to follow trends. Because of this, the news that evening sent a chill down my spine. The President announced he had signed into law a rule stipulating all American citizens were required to have a StatusBubble(TM) device installed. He believed it would be the death knell for all crimes and he looked forward to a country where everyone could live without fear. Just as I rolled over to go back to sleep I heard a banging on the door. I knew what this was and I slowly rose and dressed, resigning myself to my fate.
By this time tomorrow I would be one of the masses.
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