The "Ringdoorbellification" of America

Okay so let me sound insane and throw out a pseudo-conspiracy real quick. Its more theorizing that products of our environment, such as the ring doorbell, can reflect a larger cultural shift towards anti-intellectualism. 

From Tik Tok profile views, to read recipts, to half-swiping on snapchat we have all begun to monitor the meaning in online subtlety to a degree which translates into our interpersonal lives. My theory about the "ringdoorbellification" of America is exactly such; since the exigence of the Ring Doorbell, we have seen a decline in social/cultural, trust, integrity, and a concerning rise in apathy. Now let me paint the picture. 

The Ring Doorbell was sent to market in 2014 for the daily use of monitoring who visits your front porch, when packages are delivered, and to talk to your friends via the microphone feature when they arrive at your residence. A fully utilitarian tool that 'revolutionized' the model of home security. However, what it became (at least in residential areas in the south of the US) was a fear-mongering device that went viral on neighborhood groups and motherly internet forums. People began to report "porch pirates" (people who steal packages off of front porches) to no avail. Demonizing young kids for riding their bikes too close to parked cars, and report "suspicious activity" which often is unjust racial profiling. These ring doorbells gave anyone with access to 24 hour surveillance the ability to spread fear around neighborhoods and online, often conflating these non harmful instances to a possible burglary or a decline in morality in children. The demographic of people who most often post and spread this misinformation about neighborhood goings-on are unemployed, older folks or concerned housewives. They have taken matters into their own hands to constantly report the unraveling of the moral fabric of America. 

However, These happenings are not only ridiculous to be reported and harped upon, but would happen despite the existence of the ring doorbell. Kids are gonna egg your house, your packages might get stolen, people you've never seen before might walk their dog down your street. Even if the doorbell is used as a deterrent, these are just things that happen. What has changed is the easy access to getting people who are like minded to you all up in a tizzy about what you think is suspicious activity. This goes back to racial profiling and a general fear of teens. The amount of Black and brown people who have been wrong reported on neighborhood groups, caught on ring doorbells, minding their own business is baffling. 

I have two brothers. One is Black, one is white. One goes to walk my dog and gets posted on a neighborhood group where people ask if anyone have seen this man before and he is acting "suspect." Want to know which brother that was? Yeah easy to guess in this racist ass state. Whereas my other brother walks our dog often and has never faced the same horrible false accusations. 

We have given people who sit around all day and watch the fear monger of them all, fox news, the vector in which to inflict their own bias onto whoever they see come across their path. I guess these doorbells are a tool, but when abused can be dangerous to those with the bias and the time to watch surveillance footage. We have all begun to monitor and fear each other more and more. 

I talked to my uncle who is a pharmacist and he said the second most popular controlled substance in America right now are anti-depressants. More and more people take these than ever before. People are seeking psychiatric assistance, however this shift is likely due to our cultural shift online. It really is that damn phone. We monitor our front porches, and now our friends every move online. Did they like that instagram story? did they half swipe on my snap as to not respond to me? Did they leave me on delivered, or even worse read? Did they view my tik tok profile? Did they like my highlight? Did they respond to my text but not my DM or vise versa? Did they send me the same tik tok or reel I sent them? Did they like a reel? THE LIST GOES ON. Not only are our bodies seen everywhere we move, the path of our fingers and eyes across our phone screens are reported to our friends, and we have begun to gauge levels of friendships to tags, @s and likes. 

Now, call me some old hag on the internet, but I am guilty of all of these thoughts. If I post something on my closefriends on insta and no one likes it, I get embarrassed and question connection. BUT that doesn't mean anything and I have to remind myself that this online playground is nothing more than that. 

As we over analyze things we simultaneously fall into an algorithm. We think we have gained perspective to the outside world, seeing news reported first hand, or a commentary video on that very news, however what is fed to us is just that small portion of the pie that is the vast internet. Our perspective is just that algorithm, and I have to remind myself that reactionary videos and stressed people on tik tok screaming at me and saying "you need to care about this!" is not that dissimilar to the neighborhood groups which report people via their ring doorbells. Red hearings are common, catastrophization is common, and the fact that I may only be getting one side of the story is common. I may spiral out about how scary the world is right now, because it is scary and there are things I need to care about, but I must remember common media literacy. 

We have become entombed in fear and in algorithms and in monitoring and weighing how much our online presence affects our real lives. It has begun to affect mine greatly. AND THATS when we take a step back. I wish we all could, and realize we are depriving ourselves of that very thing we were genetically woven for: community. We have fallen so divided in do they like me or don't they, and do they agree with me or don't they, all because we can monitor the pulse of people's every move so quickly when we are away from them. This fear for one another's true thoughts and passive actions have all come from tools such as security systems and things like profile views. Honestly we would be much more connected and less depressed if we didn't know everything so quickly. And what's funny is that 'everything' is nothing compared to that unsumarizable reality that is going on. 

Do your research, know what these companies want you to think about your friends. They want to increase engagement off of your negative feelings. They want you depressed so that you''ll scroll and fear and fear and fear. Our biggest insecurities are heightened on the internet, and our biases are only fortified. Question it all, and most importantly the use of one of those damn doorbells. 

P.S. If your house gets egged, you probably deserved it, old racist lady.