What's the point of 'smart' and 'connected' objects? Are they supposed to help us get through menial tasks more efficiently, or have the capitalists figured out a clever way to perpetually profit off the objects we use on a daily basis? Sometimes it feels like the latter. When your printer holds your ink cartridge hostage because you haven't paid your monthly printer subscription, I think it's safe to say you've been swindled by the 'Internet of Things.' And technology itself isn't necessarily to blame. We'll never get to that fabled techno-utopia as long as 'innovation' prioritizes profit rather than usefulness. Until then, we get to clumsily navigate this boring dystopia of connected crap, eternally updating the firmware on our smart trashcans.
dystopia
Ever look around and get the sense that we're living in some sort of techno-dystopia? We get it—sometimes it's cool to have lights that you can dim from your phone or a watch that tells you how many calories you burned, but maybe the 'Internet of Things' has gone too damn far. Once you start connecting every single object in your home to the internet, you become pretty vulnerable when, say, Google is suddenly down, or your WiFi router malfunctions. Sometimes a doorbell should just be a doorbell and a toothbrush certainly shouldn't require regular firmware updates. And who the hell actually wants an Amazon surveillance robot literally flying around their house 24/7?
Anyway, we've got a bunch of examples of bad 'smart devices' from Twitter that might make you reconsider that bluetooth coffee mug purchase.
Let's face it, we're living in a dystopian hellhole right now, because who the hell knows when we'll be out of lockdown. Admittedly, these boring dystopian posts probably won't make you feel any better or distract you from the horrid reality, but they will make you laugh, and that's something, right?
The following posts depict the strange, surreal times we're living in right now, and we have to be honest in that they may even hit a little too close to home. Scroll down to see for yourself. If you want to feel even weirder and more hopeless, check out /r/BoringDystopia!
