Ad displays, guaranteed. Airports, shopping malls, offices, hotels… all those windows? glass doors? room partitions? wasted ad space.
Imagine walking down the frozen section of your grocery store… every door, a display… no longer just looking at the products and deciding what to buy, but now endlessly bombarded with bright flashing animations… Imagine the future.
Yeah, I can’t really think of a compelling use case for the home.
Displays on all your windows? But you know they’d be smart devices that want to connect to the internet so they can throw ads at you… imagine wanting to look out your window and having to watch a 5s ad clip first. Pay a subscription fee for ad-free windows, coming soon to an apartment building near you.
Reacting to the video, not gonna lie, I kinda dig gamifying life. The street warnings are a nice touch, the “get off” bus feature is nice, making the mall nicer is also welcomed (why spend resources on a nice mall when you can have it virtual?).
But yeah, ads, loyalty point, buying shit just to “feed” a virtual dog. I am getting both good and bad vibes. But knowing humans and greedy corporations, this wouldn’t end well.
It all feels bad to me. What feels oppressive to me is the implication that it’s obligatory, not optional. It’s not your choice. In the reality of that video, you can’t function in society and escape the lights, ads, signs, loyalty points, warnings, suggestions, and on and on. It’s like pop up ads on a dodgy website. People who don’t have your best interest in mind have constructed the environment for you.
I agree with your view, but I’d say it does not feel obligatory, but rather that when not using it, you are at a disadvantage. Like WeChat. Sure, it is not required, but you won’t be able to text your friends, you won’t be able to send money, you won’t be able to pay. But guess what, the platform makes enough money to pay the companies to require it, which makes them more money, which brings more people to the platform - and enshittifycation begins.
It really is a good video.
