Thoughts on Control: Hegemony and Choice
in the Digital Age
The
period of human history currently playing out has been deemed the Information
Age. With a simple click, a seemingly infinite amount of information is
accessible to practically anyone for free, or reasonable prices. This
information ranges from nonessential facts amassed on sites like Wikipedia, to
personal profiles created on Facebook detailing the basic aspects of peoples’
lives. A great concern in the digital world of today is the access allowed to
personal information and how this information is used. Companies like Google
and Facebook are able to amass hundreds of pages of personal information on
users, from what search items people are looking for to even addresses and
private conversations. This control over personal information has given many
companies the clichéd title of “Big Brother,” coined from George Orwell’s novel
1984. For example, Facebook has been
accused of selling personal information of consumers to marketing companies and
ad agencies in order to make more profit. In today’s digital world, companies
appear to be vying for control of this personal information amassed from
consumers and also the means by which to use it to make profit. The mode by
which these corporations seem to control consumers is by creating ideological
hegemonies, which make consumers compliant to these privacy risks. Although
many believe that the world of digital media is being controlled by these hegemonic
systems created by companies such as Google, Facebook, and Apple, this control
is mostly imagined because consumers of digital media are able to control the
actions of companies using capitalistic ideals to inspire competition and
disavow them of dominance and control.
In George Orwell's dystopian novel, 1984, the subject
of governmental control and the perpetuation of a coercive and ideological hegemonic
system are examined using the totalitarian regime of the Party with "Big
Brother" at its head. Orwell plays with different theories of how totalitarian
regimes control their subjects: through mass presence, control of the media,
social interaction, and compliant dependency. These ideas apply to any type of ideological
or coercive hegemony and are applicable to our digital world today. Massive
companies such as Google, Facebook, and Apple are accused to use similar means
of control as described in Orwell's book to influence a society of consumers to
place trust in their products.
Even with these supposed controls placed on consumers, this does
not mean that these companies actually control individuals. While I was reading
through 1984, I was impressed by the
main protagonist’s resistance to the Party’s ideological controls, such as the Two
Minutes Hate and other propaganda of the Party, through his act of keeping a
journal (Orwell 14). In the story, Winston purchases an illegal journal and
begins to record his thoughts and feelings about his life and the negative
influence of the Party. In reaction to the Party’s mode of oppression, Winston
pens repeatedly the phrase, “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER” (Orwell 19). In this act of
creation, Winston reveals that he is not completely controlled by the
domineering eye of Big Brother. The whole of act of journal writing in the
novel represents humanities ability to have freedom of will no matter what
modes of hegemony are used to control them. Not only does this form of
creativity allow Winston to not be controlled, it gives him a voice to call
known and unknown others to embrace their unalienable freedom of choice. Winston
writes to these others by saying:
To the future or the past, to a time when thought is free, when
men are different from one another and do not live alone—to a time when truth
exists and what is done cannot be undone: From the age of uniformity, from the
age of solitude, from the age of Big Brother, from the age of double
think—greetings! (Orwell 26-27)
This
statement is a symbol of how hegemony, both ideological and coercive, can be
resisted and an individuals freedom be maintained.
Fiction is not the only realm where writing has been symbolic of
resistance to hegemony. While in prison, Antonio Gramsci wrote volumes of
criticism against the fascist regime of Mussolini through the guise of literary
and cultural criticism. Just like Winston, Gramsci was able to maintain his
impregnable freedom of will and thought until his death in 1937 after 11 years
in prison (Burke). Gramsci’s criticism presented in his Prison Notebooks contains theories of hegemony describing how
hegemonies can be enforced through two distinct ways: coercive means, usually
by the “political society,” or “spontaneous” consent given by the masses in
reaction to the ideology of the “dominant fundamental group” (Gramsci 145).
Forms of this second kind of hegemony, or ideological hegemony, are being
employed by the mega-technology companies of today to convince people to use
their products. Examining the methods of the Party in Orwell’s novel in
comparison to the methods employed by companies will help explicate this form
of hegemony used by these companies, and also help reveal why these methods do
not actually control individuals.
In 1984, one method used by the Party’s hegemonic
system to keep party members in line is through the use of mass presence. In
the book, every Party member’s home has a piece of technology known as a
telescreen. These screens provide a way for Party members to constantly be fed
propaganda by the Party and also constantly be observed. This constant
observation keeps the subjugated citizens of Airstrip One mostly in submission
to the decrees of the government.
Winston,
the protagonist, only finds ways to rise against the hegemonic system by being
able to get away from the all-seeing eye of Big Brother. He does this by
finding places that are out of sight of the telescreen, such as the small
alcove in his room where he writes in his journal (Orwell 9) or the room he
rents above Mr. Charrington’s shop in run-down London where he rendezvous with
Julia for their sexual escapades (113-116).
This idea of control by constant observation, or presence,
translates to the digital world. Google, by amassing rights to be the default
search engine on many Internet browsers, has been able to create a vast
presence on the Web that has even led to the addition of "google" as
a verb in the dictionary (Merriam Webster Online). Tim Wu, in a webinar about
his book, The Master Switch,
explained that the reason people use Google so much is because of this
presence. Google being accessible almost everywhere makes it convenient to use
and logically people would ask themselves, “Why not use Google” (Wu Webinar). Though
this convenience makes it seem that Google is monopolizing the market as an
Internet browser, their overwhelming presence does not mean they directly
control which mode of consumption consumers use. The existence of competition
between other search engines such as Yahoo and MSN with Google adds evidence
that convenience does not equate to control (SEJ). Google may remain as one of
the top grossing Internet companies, but that does not show it controls
individuals ability to create and branch out from Google because there are no
restrictions to the contrary.
The hegemony of 1984 is also continued by the
Party's ability to modify the past and control the information that is consumed
by individuals. Winston describes this constant flux of truth by using the
Newspeak word "doublethink," which means, according to Winston, “[t]o
know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling
carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled
out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them…” (Orwell
23). The idea of changing or controlling what information people are privy to
is part of the reality of the digital world. Google, for example, has
certain algorithms that modify searches to personalize them for each of
their individual customers based on their search history and perceived
interests (Levy). This in effect censors the kind of information you are able
to view when surfing the Internet. Though this algorithm can in theory limit
the kinds of search results given according to individual’s preferences, Google
does not have the ability to control how this information is used by each
consumer. Google is unable to dominate the potential for creation of
individuals who use its product, and therefore the company does not maintain
complete control.
Another aspect of control that is part of the hegemony in Orwell’s
book is the Party’s attempt to control individuals through social interaction.
As a way to imprint their ideology on party members, the Party organized
certain club organizations for youth, like the Spies. The Spies organization
was specifically organized to instill principles of loyalty to the Party in
youth by teaching them how to recognize potential dissension from party
policies by others. They Spies were even known to turn their own parents into
the Thought Police for crimes against Big Brother (Orwell 24). These clubs went
on group hikes and other communal activities to create bonds of familiarity
with its members that would grow into a feeling of being part of something
greater than each individual alone. This social interaction breeds brotherhood
that not only bonds the Spies together, but also binds them in commitment to
following the party. This social interaction used by the Party is also a method
that is used to invite consumers to willingly consent to use a product.
In the digital world, Facebook embodies a company that has used
social interaction as one of their products and also as a way to promote their
product. Facebook is a social networking site that allows individuals to create
individualized profiles and share information with friends for free. This
product was made popular because of the ability to easily connect with those
that you know and communicate with them freely about almost anything. The
popularity of Mark Zuckerberg’s product was bred on the “club” mentality of
social interaction, as described with the Spies previously. This mode to
establish ideological hegemony has appeared to be successful and has brought
millions of users under the umbrella of Facebook, but that does not mean that
Facebook is able to control these consumers’ decisions. Facebook’s lack of
control has recently been revealed with the company’s decision to go public. Many
investors have tried to jump ship as the price of shares fell below the
estimated $38 per share (Bloomberg). These consumers with investments in
Facebook were not tethered to the company just because of the opportunity for
social networking. They had personal interests in the company that were not met,
and they chose to act on these interests for their personal welfare. This shows
that Facebook did not have enough control over investors and consumers of its
product to stop them from losing faith in the company’s direction.
One last aspect of ideological hegemonic control used in 1984 that is applicable to digital media
is the process of how the Party made its members dependent upon their services
for basic necessities and wants. Throughout the text, Winston Smith uses
products controlled and distributed by the party. Products like cigarettes,
razors, gin, and even chocolate are produced and controlled by the direct influence
of the regime and competition is nonexistent. This form of Communism creates a
narrowed society where each individual’s options of consumption are limited. This
compliant dependency that Party members have with the regime of Big Brother is
similar to the "walled-garden" that Apple has created for hardware
users (Burton). The world of Apple products includes iMacs, iPads, iPhones, iPods,
and MacBooks. These products each have the capacity to sync with one another
and have software that can only be used between Apple devices. Many products
like iTunes limits users to how audio media can be played and shared due to
copyright and certain restrictions Apple places on the sold content. Further,
Apple's apps can only be purchased from the Apple store and are not freely open
to users of Apple products. These forms of product control create a niche for
consumers that invites them to become compliant with their dependency on the
company for their products.
Even with this “walled garden” of exclusive use, Apple can be
controlled depending on the actions of consumers to buy their products. Steve
Jobs, the former CEO and founder of Apple, stated in an interview that his
whole goal was “to create the best product possible for consumers” (Steve Jobs
interview). Because Apple has based its marketing strategy off of capitalistic
principles, resistance to its ideological hegemony is simply a matter of
choice. The competition that continues to exist between PCs and Apple shows
that complete dominance of the hardware industry is out of Apple’s grasp.
Consumers dictate how companies fair on the market are able to control
companies’ actions through purchasing power.
