#2- "They Say"

In this introduction, Rushkoff explains that we as citizens tend to listen to authority figures when they have information for us. Regardless of what that information might be, we usually accept it as fact without actually doing any research on the topic oursleves. In a sense, these authority figures "seem to dictate our lives, decide our fates, and create our futures," as Rushkoff says. "They make our decisions for us. They do our thinking for us. We don't have to worry about our next move--it has already been decided on our behalf, and in our best interests. Or so we hope."

Rushkoff shows how these "authority" figures use manipulative techniques to encourage us to do certain things, or even to behave in a certain manner. He illustrates how a saleswoman undoing a few buttons on her blouse may lead to more men buying things. This is a form of "hidden coercion"  and many times we are unaware that these techniques are being used on us. Rushkoff says, "It's not always easy to determine when we have surrendered our judgment to someone else. The better and more sophisticated the manipulation, the less aware of it we are." This is very true, and the subconscious advertising and persuation plays a major role in our daily lives.

These techniques are constantly changing and upgrading as people become used to the old ones. "Our attempts to stay one step ahead of coercers merely provokes them to develop even more advanced, less visible, and, arguably, more pernicious methods of persuasion."

I agree with Rushkoff, in that we are constanly at war with mass media advertisement. Our minds hang in the balance, drifting between individualism and conformatism. We must always be aware of the things happening to us and around us. We must not fall victim to commercials and compulsiveness. Knowing is half the battle.