Anita Hamilton's article from Time magazine and Mark Cieslac's BBC article both address the issue of built-in GPS chips in phones and the effect they have on the social media market. Phones with integrated GPS capabilities provide two views of the future that are conflicting but very real. GPS phones can locate where and individual is in real time, allowing any entity, be it a company or the government, to have 24/7 access to one's whereabouts.
On the one hand, the social media implications are very positive. Depending on your location the phone could notify you of nearby restaurants, grocery stores, or gas stations. This would revolutionize the way we navigate and interact with those around us. Don't know where your best friend is? Check out the Buddy Beacon feature on your Helio Drift and you'll know where they are in minutes. Instead of wandering around some unknown place trying to understand the voice on the other end, you'll have a quick graphic representation to lead you where you need to go.
On the other hand, if the company can track you, a Big Brother element comes into play. The Ubisafe technology mentioned in the BBC article helps parents locate their children easily. However, providing companies with access to 24/7 knowledge of where you are creeps me out a bit. Companies are out for one thing: to make a profit. Internet advertising and Coke ads in movie theater previews are bad enough, but to have an advertisement pop up every time you are near a certain restaurant can be annoying. The media bombards us enough with advertising, the last thing we need is for it to follow us away from our TV or computer screens.
What Harry Means to Me
12 years ago
Yeah I agree. This new GPS technology creeps me out too. It's one thing to opt into a social network and publish what you're doing or where you're going. But the thought of companies honing in on me via my cell phone is so Big Brother and makes me so ucomfortable.
ReplyDeleteLike I talked about in my blog, my country already has the GPS technology in every phone, but it never creeps me out. Yes, it sounds scary if your friends can track you where you are 24-7, but you can turn off the GPS whenever you don't want it to be on. In fact, its very useful because I just turn the GPS on whenever I need to use it, like when I got lost in a city or need to find info about restaurant. I just think it depends on how you use it.
ReplyDeleteHey it can't hurt if it's optional, right?
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