A Critical Engagment with Monetary interfaces (reading response)
"Monetary interfaces have been developing and providing added value
services to consumers, limiting the use of cash and of other paper based
payment methods, effectively laying the foundations for a cashless
society."
In this reading, I can understand the value of a cashless society; instantaneous transactions, money sent from country to country with ease and immediacy, etc. However, what I find disturbing in a lot of readings and theories on modernity and post-modern society, is where those less fortunate end up as a consequence. How, in a modern 'cashless society' can one donate to charity when walking down the street? How can one give spare change freely, especially if the recipient is not in possession of a device which would enable an instant transfer? Readings on the modern and post modern world seem to eradicate possibility for many things which are commonplace today.
"IT companies, which are simultaneously the producers of the devices, their software, and the retailers of the content, have a vested interest to prevent sharing and cooperation among users. Controlled consumption, a term used by Henri Lefebvre, to describe the bureaucratic control of supply and demand in the affluent society, has assumed a new meaning where it becomes a model of restricted and temporary access to information, conditioned by the architecture of the interface"(Andersen & Pold)
I found this section of the reading really interesting as it made me think about the recent Apple lawsuit. After numerous people noticed that iPhone's slow down towards the end of two years of use, a motion was filed against the tech-giant. Apple then confessed to creating phones which were made to fault after two years, encouraging apple fans to keep buying the newest models of their phones and keep the business running smoothly. There is a generational divide in many people when it comes to technology, the older generations seeing the younger as mindless sheep following whatever Mark Zuckerburg or the ghost of Steve Jobs tell them. The concept of 'Controlled consumption' is a quietly frightening look behind the curtain to reveal that, yes, these companies are trying in some way to control us and our spending.
The list of editors for this reading include Georgios Papadopoulos. This is interesting to me as
Georgios Papadopoulos was the President of Greece and passed away in 1999. I'm not sure how much Georgios Papadopoulos could have had to do with this reading, but it would be interesting to compare the monetary climate and the level of interaction with it in 1999 Greece, to that of today in the UK and other parts of the world.
In this reading, I can understand the value of a cashless society; instantaneous transactions, money sent from country to country with ease and immediacy, etc. However, what I find disturbing in a lot of readings and theories on modernity and post-modern society, is where those less fortunate end up as a consequence. How, in a modern 'cashless society' can one donate to charity when walking down the street? How can one give spare change freely, especially if the recipient is not in possession of a device which would enable an instant transfer? Readings on the modern and post modern world seem to eradicate possibility for many things which are commonplace today.
"IT companies, which are simultaneously the producers of the devices, their software, and the retailers of the content, have a vested interest to prevent sharing and cooperation among users. Controlled consumption, a term used by Henri Lefebvre, to describe the bureaucratic control of supply and demand in the affluent society, has assumed a new meaning where it becomes a model of restricted and temporary access to information, conditioned by the architecture of the interface"(Andersen & Pold)
I found this section of the reading really interesting as it made me think about the recent Apple lawsuit. After numerous people noticed that iPhone's slow down towards the end of two years of use, a motion was filed against the tech-giant. Apple then confessed to creating phones which were made to fault after two years, encouraging apple fans to keep buying the newest models of their phones and keep the business running smoothly. There is a generational divide in many people when it comes to technology, the older generations seeing the younger as mindless sheep following whatever Mark Zuckerburg or the ghost of Steve Jobs tell them. The concept of 'Controlled consumption' is a quietly frightening look behind the curtain to reveal that, yes, these companies are trying in some way to control us and our spending.
The list of editors for this reading include Georgios Papadopoulos. This is interesting to me as
Georgios Papadopoulos was the President of Greece and passed away in 1999. I'm not sure how much Georgios Papadopoulos could have had to do with this reading, but it would be interesting to compare the monetary climate and the level of interaction with it in 1999 Greece, to that of today in the UK and other parts of the world.
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