Oversharing is Not Caring!

We've all heard the saying "sharing is caring" at some point in our lives. As kids, we usually heard this during some petty fit of selfishness. At the Circle, however, this saying means something completely different. The Circle, having become completely dependent on technology, adopts a policy of transparency where the mantras "secrets are lies", "privacy is theft", and "sharing is caring,"are held as dogma. In our "real" world, the Circle's policy of transparency would simply not work due to people's inherent craving for privacy and peace.

For Circlers, privacy is almost non-exitnent. It is this world that Mae is forced to live in. Within time the Circle's technologies and capabilities get downright creepy, as people's entire lives are available for anyone to see. Many Circlers submissively embrace the doctrine, whereas Mae is hesitant. When discovers that Francis has recorded a sexual encounter between the two, Mae cries, "Francis. I can't believe this. Delete that. Now" (Eggers 205). In this incident, even an elite Circler is demanding privacy.

Photo Credit: Ervins Strauhmanis

In the real world, sexual intimacy is one of the most private aspects of people's lives. This is a case where privacy is not a "theft" of any kind. I believe Francis is actually stealing Mae's privacy. And the fact that Francis refuses to delete the video, would be considered an inexcusable sexual crime. Not to mention that anyone in the real world would consider it downright creepy. I was disgusted by Francis! Still, other Circles crave complete transparency. For example, Annie tells Mae that "[they] don't delete [at the Circle]" (206). Even Mae's friend, Annie, values the company over privacy.

Along with transparency, sharing is central principle in Circle life. Every Circler just wants to get the highest PartiRank possible, and to do that they must share, share, and share some more. When Mae takes a break from work and visits her parents and ex-boyfirend, Mercer, she is unable to stop herself from being sucked into technology. Mae becomes immersed in getting "smiles" on her shared photo of Mercer's chandelier. She is so removed from reality, that her mother states, "... I just don't understand why you do this now. We're trying to enjoy a nice dinner" (259). Although Mae has good intentions, her oversharing angers her family and ex-boyfriend.

A person immersed in their phone.
Photo Credit: Roberto Trombetta

In a similar way, in real life, I can often become so engrossed in my phone that I need someone to tap me on the shoulder and bring me back to reality. Just like Mercer, though, I can become frustrated when my friends are on their phones all the time. Also, I don't always want my information shared on the internet. Perhaps I don't want a certain selfie on the internet. Or maybe I prefer to keep all my information private and off the internet. In the real world, people don't want everything to be known about them. In the real world, people value face-to-face interaction. The Circle's ideas and values would not hold any bearing in the real world.

I See You Didn't Update Your Blog Information...

How would you feel if your friends and colleagues needed to know everything you did? Although people are naturally social, everyone craves privacy at some point. At the Circle, however, Mae discovers that her co-workers demand she surrender every bit of personal information. The Circle's overuse of social technology leads to an environment without privacy, where everyone knows everything about anyone. This lack of privacy results in the Circle community becoming too intimate with one another, even with complete strangers.

Privacy, as Mae learns, is a word in the Circle's dictionary. Before long, Mae is forced to understand the importance of interconnectedness at the Circle. One day, a fellow Circler, Gina, explains, "'We actually see your profile...This is how your coworkers, even those on the other side of campus, know who you are'" (Eggers 95). Yikes. Mae's coworker, already entrenched in the Circle's ideology, nonchalantly tells Mae how her information will be shared with and known by everyone at the company. I'm not sure I would be too happy with that. I think Gina's statement about sharing information foreshadows how problems will inevitably arise with a lack of privacy.  

 As Gina explains, there's no privacy at the Circle, everything about everyone is known by all. So, what happens when people can access even the most obscure information about you? They begin to get overly intimate. For instance, one of Mae's coworkers, Alistair, discovers she went to Portugal. When Mae fails to attend Alistair's "Portugal Brunch," she is summoned to a meeting with her boss. In the meeting Alistair is "holding back tears" until Mae fabricates an apology (107). Alistair's sensitivity to Mae's absence shows he feels too intimately about her, even though they have never met. When was the last time you cried over a stranger? I think because Alistair had access to all of Mae's information, both past and present, he developed a connection with her, despite them being complete strangers to one another. 

Beyond being expected to participate in every event she is invited to, Mae is also expected to routinely inform others about every aspect of her life. Mae is remonstrated when two Circlers, Josiah and Denise, discover that she kayaks and had not shared that information with anyone. Josiah angrily condemns Mae as "'not being engaged with the people around [her]'" (189).  Circlers like Josiah and Denise are accustomed to having complete "transparency," they feel intimate with other people's lives, no matter how obscure the individual is. Historically, it took days, months, even years to know a person's life story. In a matter of minutes, however, a Circler can know everything about an individual. I think because information is so readily available, Circles feel closer to each other than they really are. There is no human connection through technology, as there are no human qualities to be found in pixels and code. Mae's lack of transparency hurts her colleagues who feel intimate with her.

With such incredible technology, the people at the Circle can know a person's life story in a matter of minutes. This "transparency" makes Circlers feel intimate about complete strangers. 

The Circle Prompt 1

At some point in everyone's life, change is inevitable. Some changes are big and some are small. After reading The Circle, I realized that Mae, a new employee, and me, a new Penn State student, are similar in many ways. Coming from small hometowns, both Mae and I are forced to digest the complexity of a new life in a strange place and must adopt the practices that its community sees as commonplace.

When exploring a new environment, it is the physical aspects that are often most apparent. Like me, Mae comes from a small town. The immensity and beauty of the Circle immediately strikes her: "My God, Mae Thought. It's heaven" (Eggers 1). In fact, this was almost the exact response I had when I first came to Penn State. I was intoxicated by the school's beauty and the seemingly endless rows of buildings. I remember instantly falling in love with the school and the infinite opportunities it presented.

After exploring a new environment, it important to know and adopt the practices of the community in order to fit in. At first, Mae confusedly navigates her way around the campus "trying to look as if she belonged" (1). Admittedly, this is exactly what I tried to do when I first came to Penn State. I've always gone to a small school of no more than a few hundred. All of sudden,  I was forced to go searching for everything in the random mix of building and streets. Just like Mae, I walked around as if I knew what I was doing, even though I really didn't.

Within time, though, both Mae and I learned to adopt community practices. Although hesitant at first, Mae allows Annie to take her to a party where the members of the community eat, drink, and socialize (31). At Penn State, I take every opportunity to forge relationships with the strangers that surround me. Meals not only allows us to live, but they afford us a time to be social, make connections, and celebrate.

Still, both Mae and I understand that to really embed ourselves into a community we have to accept their values. During Mae's first days at the circle, "everyone she met was busy" (29). It is quickly apparent to Mae that the Circle community values hard work, the driving force of the company. Wanting to be accepted, she soon makes herself busy and works to achieve a high customer rating. As a freshman at Penn State, I, too, am keen to observe the practices and values of the community. Upon arriving to Penn State, some of the main things I noticed were the intense passion surrounding football and the dedication to academics. Having identified these key points of Penn State life, I attend the football games and chant "WE ARE!" with thousands of other community members.

In the same way that Penn State forces me to alter how I live, the Circle thrusts Mae into a completely foreign environment. Although difficult at first, learning the practices and values of a community are paramount when trying to be fit in. Even the simplest of traditions, such as a meal or a "WE ARE!" chant can forge connections.  For me, it is these camaraderie building moments that will ultimately make Penn State feel like a second home.

Potential Blog Ideas

I think I have too many passions in life. My mom can certainly tell you how I'd pick up a new interest almost every year and how I would become almost obsessed with it. So, when choosing what I would be writing about,  I thought about what I do presently, on a day-to-day basis. With either option, I seek to translate my passion into excitement for the reader.

Carpe See 'Em
When I began brainstorming, the first thing I thought of was people watching. And, yes, you read that correctly. I promise I'm not a person of questionable morality nor am I creep. I am, however, fascinated by the human species and the forces that compels a human being to do the things.

 If I were to write about people watching, each week I would watch a person, or a group of people on campus, from afar. I would observe and analyze their every move. Who knows, I may see something profound, or I may just end up watching someone eat dinner. But, no matter the case, the great thing about humans is that you never know what they're going to do next.

After observing my subjects and analyzing their behavior, I plan to  articulate my inquires and generate hypotheses about why they acted the way they did. If prudent, I may also add factual research data of human psychology. I believe this topic's unpredictability will add excitement with each blog.

One Out of 86,400
During my senior year of high school, I decided to take a one second video every day to capture memories with the friends I would soon be leaving behind. At the end of the year, my friends and I were able to recall countless memories through the mash-up of one second videos.

Upon arrival to Penn State, I decided I would do the same thing: highlight one second of my day, every day. In these videos, I film something special about that specific day. In my blog, I would post and discuss the one second video. I would also answer questions such as, "how did I end up there?" and "why is that pork roll sandwich so important to you?" Indeed, I have take many videos that were hard to explain in the moment, but the significance was later apparent. After all, we only have so many seconds to live and we should cherish every one of them.

While I am passionate about both of my ideas, I will be strongly influenced by peer feedback. However, I believe either topic offers infinite unpredictably and excitement.