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In light of my reading on Foucault and his views on power and knowledge and the discourse of power I want apply what I have learned to how we use technology. Ten years ago we were not so dependent on the technologies we now take for granted. Internet, cell phones and social networks have broken open our lives and changed how we communicate, act and have thrown our lives into the public spotlight.

Cell phones allow us to easily be tracked while at the same time giving us a convenience. Smart phones may give us a map of where we are, but at the same time it also gives whoever wants to track us the means to map where we are. We have entered a discourse where the popularity of the phone made it a legitimate medium to track us. We can not use cell phones to prevent surveillance, but the way that we have become dependent on cell phones is essentially what traps us.

Further, we are entering another discourse with social networks. When all our friends are using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. we also feel compelled to join those services. However, when we join those services we are constantly posting information, creating new modes of knowledge gathering. Social networking is a double edged sword insofar as we have the ability to connect with our friends, but at the same time we also give information about ourselves to groups which we might otherwise not want to give information to.

In both these cases the power of these services isn't absolute. We don't need to have a cell phone and we don't need to be on social networks, but we are stuck. Communication and social connections are tied heavily with having a cell phone where plans change on the whim due to the instant communication which occurs. Sure we can not have a cell phone, but to do so is essentially frowned upon to such an extent that we are coerced into submitting. (Think about this how you think of people who don't have cell phones? What is your personal feelings if you want to reach them?) Remember, this is not an absolute power, this is a discourse that has been created with multiple knowledges: the means of communication, how you view someone who does not have a cell phone, how society at large treats the use of the phone, etc. You are part of the discourse and you have freedom as part of this discourse, but in most likelihood you will likely be coerced into having a cellphone, even if you may not want it.

We are going to be entering that stage with social networks. Having a social network account be it Facebook, Twitter, etc. is going to become so great that we will be coerced into having an account. This is the underlying discourse that is happening right now in the fight of the social networks. How can we get more people to sign up for social networks? The answer is by making the connection to the network so strong that trying to resist and not become part of the network becomes difficult. People I know who left Facebook a year or two ago would come back to the network after a month or two because of the power of belonging to it. Now, if you ask most college students most if not all will have Facebook accounts.

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