The Circle Themes

After reading The Circle, a noteworthy theme I noticed is the questionable goodness of people and society. Eggers continuously returns to the idea that people aren’t inherently good—but become good when others are watching. Transparency and the lack of privacy makes people more cautious and aware. Although this transparency is what allowed for much of the good that happened within the novel—such as eradicating crime and making healthcare more widely available, it also obscures people’s deep, true intentions. They may seem good, but only because that is the socially accepted norm.

This extends to another theme, which is the perception of truth. Truth in The Circle is always idealistic—it’s the desired perception. People are viewed as good, technology is viewed as helpful, transparency is viewed as beneficial. However, when this takes precedence over actual truth, we begin to lose the humanity and authenticity of everyone in society. Information becomes ignored and hidden, and people’s lives become a convoluted lie.

Overall, The Circle raises questions and themes worth discussing, however, Eggers writes in a way that seems a bit implausible. In many ways, humans and technology don’t act in the ways which he describes. Eggers creates so many unlikely outcomes one after the other that they become harder to believe throughout the course of the novel. Subtlety is a rare commodity here, and this ends up leaving only a thin connection to reality as we know it.

Can Happiness Be Bought?

If we were to compare American life since the end of World War II to today, everything regarding money and the things it can buy has risen drastically—an upward rise to materialism. Inflation adjusted income per American has tripled. The typical size of a new house has more than doubled. Designer clothing, electronics, and other items that did not exist half a century ago are now affordable. Everything related to earning and spending has increased. However, if we were to chart American happiness since the end of World War II, we would find an unfortunate flat line. In polls taken in 1950 by the National Opinion Research Center, the percentage of Americans describing themselves as “very happy” is about one third—and this percentage remains almost exactly the same today.

And yet, if we were to chart the incidence of depression since 1950, there would be a growing epidemic. Clinical depression is roughly 3 to 10 times as common today as it was two generations ago. So although the amount of money we have has risen drastically, we are essentially no happier, and in fact even more depressed. Of course, our grandparents who lived through the war and the Great Depression told us that money can’t buy happiness—but we don’t listen. Many of us often spend more time and energy pursuing things bought by money rather than engaging in activities that are truly fulfilling. We live through our credit cards and view expensive purchases as shortcuts to happiness.

In a European study, it is shown that the poor—those in Europe earning less than $10,000 a year—are rendered unhappy by the stress of poverty. However, after a person’s annual income exceeds $10,000, money and happiness decouple and cease to have a relationship. Over the past years, an increasing body of social science and psychological research has shown that there is no significant relationship between how much money a person earns and whether he or she is happy about life. Surprisingly, it was found that the richest Americans in the Forbes 400 were only a tiny bit happier than the public as a whole. Because wealthy people often feel jealous about the possessions and prestige of other wealthy people, even large amounts of money fail to deliver well-being. We as humans tend to judge our possessions in comparison to others’. For instance, we don’t ask if our house meets our needs—but rather, we ask if our house is nicer than our neighbor’s. If everyone around has a more luxurious house, we feel as if ours isn’t enough. And so the money we spend stops providing us with a sense of well-being and happiness, but rather a mere sense of keeping up with those around us.

Paradoxically, it is the increase in money that triggers unhappiness today. As material expectations continue to rise, more money only engenders more desires. We stop feeling grateful and continue to focus on what we don’t have. We begin to seem conditioned to think that we don’t have enough—even if objectively our lives are comfortable. And this high standard of living in the U.S. becomes an impediment to happiness. Everyone needs a certain amount of money, but chasing money rather than meaning is a formula for discontent. Money cannot buy our happiness, as the things we really need in life are not sold in stores.

Mood Makeup

In the modern age, most girls wear makeup—and it’s typically designed to make us feel better about ourselves. But can makeup actually do this by altering our brain chemistry? In an emerging trend, cosmetic companies are creating products that can latch onto brain receptors and alter our moods. Physician’s Formula has created a “Happy Booster Bronzer,” claiming that the blend of substances in the makeup can mimic endorphins—which are responsible for our excitement and satisfaction. Firmenich has created a “Smiley Perfume,” a citrus and bergamot scented fragrance to stimulate the same brain receptors that induce euphoria. It’s even marketed as “the world’s first antidepressant perfume.” Kroia has created a moisturizing cream that hinges on the homeopathic practice of chromotherapy—exposing yourself to colors associated with certain “energies” that alter your frame of mind. Each moisturizer, available in several different colors, is infused with ingredients that emit particular wavelengths of light.

Although a neat creation, this mood altering makeup is under much skepticism. People are doubtful that the necessary compounds can be absorbed into the bloodstream through the skin. And while skepticism exists in the practicality of these products, the fact that we have come to the point of needing makeup infused with chemicals that induce happiness does shed a revealing light on society. Makeup itself can be thought of as a way to empower women. It is not necessarily about a standard of beauty promoted by society—but rather about being comfortable and confident in one’s own skin. It allows individuals to express themselves in their own unique art form. However, when we move to the need of infusing makeup with mood altering chemicals, we deviate from organic empowerment to inorganic empowerment. This raises questions about the true happiness of our society. Have we become so insecure and so depressed that we cannot even generate our own happiness organically? While it is possible that the development of products like this may just merely enhance our already apparent happiness, it is also very possible that they may actually move our society in a direction of artificiality. The appearance of these chemicals in such a common item like makeup promotes the normalization of a manufactured happiness—and we must not let the idea that organic happiness and manufactured happiness are the same cloud our minds.

Ultimately, while the idea of mood changing makeup sounds clever and innovative at first glance, it actually does reveal some unsettling truths about our society today. With so many different standards to live up to, and with the rise of new technology, we are unhappier than ever and have turned to altering our brain chemistry to reach the simple state of mind that is happiness. If this trend of artificiality continues, a frightening path will ensue—one in which our humanity may start to diminish. Although mood changing makeup is just a harmless start, we must avoid further and more extreme inorganic alterations to our brains to ensure that we do not end up in a world where true depression is obscured by counterfeit happiness.

Palmer Art Museum

Over the past centuries, art has changed in countless ways—from subject matter to form to medium. At first glance, art can merely look like a simple person, object, pattern, or landscape, but with further inspection, an extensive amount of history and meaning can be discovered. In the Palmer Art Museum, several types of art were displayed from several different time periods—demonstrating many interesting paradigm shifts. A piece that caught my eye was “Dakota Grain Elevators” by Emil Bethke.

art-1

This painting depicts a paradigm shift from old-fashioned farming to modern farming. In past ages, grain was difficult to handle and farming was a laborious task. As the Industrial Revolution pulled society out of old-fashioned and inefficient ways, new technology and machinery was developed. As depicted in the painting, there is a modernized grain elevator, a railroad track, and utility poles to support power lines. This is quite a contrast to the antiquated farming in past centuries that required much physical labor and time. Instead, farming was becoming more efficient, productive, and dependent on machinery rather than humans. This paradigm shift was quite monumental in propelling us into the intensely technological world we live in today.

Reflecting this technological world is Ed Paschke’s painting “Bibutsu.”

art-2

This painting is of two men with stripes across their faces, reflective of television, video, and electronic media. This depicts a paradigm shift in media from paper and print to electronic and technological forms. Before such technology, media was often in paper form and either uncolored or colored in a conventional form that lacked the use of striking color. However, in this painting, the brightly colored stripes and luminous glow parallel the effect of a television’s stripes. The acid-tone splashed across the faces of the two men parallel the anonymity in our oversized virtual world. And these aspects all unite to help demonstrate a clear paradigm shift—a shift that has lead us into the world we live in today.

Art is a unique and expressive way to demonstrate shifts in ideals and standards historically and culturally. It reflects meaning in a way that is different from words and text. Although art is quite interpretive, the paradigm shift is very present in these two pieces, because if an idea has reached art, it is likely to reach everywhere.

The Happiness Paradox

It seems like we’re all trying to pursue the same thing nowadays. We all deal with stress and anxiety on the daily—and in this sense, we’ve become a group that is very interested in one thing—finding happiness. But are we pursuing happiness in the right way?

We live in a culture that is obsessed with happiness. If we stop by the non-fiction section of any bookstore, we’ll see that it’s flooded with self-help books—because ultimately, Americans crave happiness and will work and study hard to achieve it. However, this perpetuates the idea that if we’re not happy at all times, there’s something wrong with us. Happiness has become a core question of our lives, and many psychologists argue that this obsession with happiness may actually be making us less happy.

So why does this preoccupation with happiness not work?

  1. We begin to discount both the presence and value of the inevitable challenging and painful events in our lives.
    • In the midst of a cultural obsession with happiness, it is easy for us to feel inadequate when we fall short of an ideal happiness.
  2. High expectations make us unhappy.
    • In a 2003 study, people who planned large parties, having high expectations about the fun they were to have on New Year’s Eve, reported being less happy two months after New Year’s than those who had no plans.
    • Our expectations for future happiness and the desire for a certain outcome makes us less happy.
  3. We don’t quite know what makes us happy.
    • Many people believe that spending money will lead to happiness. However, research suggests that people who spend money on themselves are less happy than those who spend money on others.
    • When we engage in activities just to make ourselves happier, we lose the value of the activity.
    • We have little knowledge of what actually makes us happy, and we often work to achieve happiness in unfulfilling ways.
  4. Monitoring our feelings makes us less happy.
    • People asked to think about why a joke is funny find the joke less funny than if they weren’t asked to think about it.
    • People asked to think about their reasoning for choosing one product over another are less satisfied with their choice than people who did not think about their reasons.
    • This extreme awareness of our feelings changes our view of happiness for the worse.

So, paradoxically, in order to become happier, we must drop our cultural obsession of trying to find happiness. Happiness is not a destination, but rather a state of mind and life. We should return to happiness as defined by Aristotle—which is a life lived in accordance with virtue. To Aristotle, happiness wasn’t necessarily a fleeting feeling, but rather an evaluation of a life well lived. And in this sense, we ourselves should stop living lives preoccupied with happiness as a cultural norm, and start living according to beauty, honor, and virtue.

Menacing Mantras

The three mantras of The Circle pose as powerful and terrifying statements. Although they are intensely abided by at The Circle, the thought of living our real lives by these mantras is frightening. As we progress into a more technologically advanced world, these mantras become a little more real. We seem to be on the path to transparency—but there must be a limit. We cannot let our society progress to the point of The Circle for our own sake.

At The Circle, secrets are nonexistent. Transparency and the SeeChange are taking over. They display the most intimate details of people’s lives for the whole world to see. The pressure for those who had not gone transparent at The Circle became “oppressive.” Authorities began to ask, “If you aren’t transparent, what are you hiding?” (241). In this sense, secrets are absent. With a constant recording of people’s every action, nothing is omitted and everything is seen. This reflects the first mantra, “Secrets are lies.” Before the SeeChange, Mae was confronted about not participating in online activities and groups. She was criticized for not joining a group for kayaking and even for not joining a group for people who had loved ones with multiple sclerosis. By keeping her personal life a secret, Mae was considered to be lying—however, lying by omission. She was considered to be leaving out facts that could end up creating misconceptions.

The second mantra, “Sharing is caring,” displays itself in a both positive and negative light. When Mae visits Dr. Villalobos for a health visit, she shares intimate details about her dad’s health. Immediately, Dr. Villalobos tells Mae that she can add her father to the company plan—which would infinitely improve her parents’ quality of life. Mae thinks to herself, “Was it possible… that their constant battles with insurance companies actually diminished her father’s health and prevented her mother from working, eliminating her ability to earn money to pay for his care—would end?” (161). In this sense, sharing is caring. By revealing concerns to others, there is a greater chance that a solution can be found. However, this “sharing is caring” mantra can also be viewed in a negative light when the information shared is too personal and too private. When Mae finds out that Francis filmed their intimacy, she expresses a strong desire to delete the video. Francis, however, disagrees—and by sharing the video, he causes Mae much harm and embarrassment.

Lastly, the “Privacy is theft” mantra is reflected when Mae takes a kayaking trip without uploading any pictures or videos. She is admonished when she comes back without any evidence to post online. Eamon Bailey questions her by asking, “Does it feel right to have deprived them of seeing what you saw?… Why shouldn’t everyone have equal access to the sights of the world?” (302). Although this is considered a private moment to Mae, The Circle believes that by not making her adventures accessible online, she is depriving others of the opportunity to share in her adventure—stealing that experience from them. Such intense transparency becomes very overwhelming, and people become oppressed by the constant need to make all experiences public.

The ideas behind these mantras are certainly seen in the real world. Social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat perpetuate the dangerous ideas that “Secrets are lies” and “Privacy is theft.” It is so socially acceptable to post everyday activities that only small parts of ourselves are truly kept private. However, in reality, “Sharing is caring” is often a positive idea. We’re told this a multitude of times when we’re merely small children. It is only when details become too intimate and too private that sharing poses a problem. So, we must ultimately keep the dangers of such mantras in mind. And hopefully, in doing so, we will avoid the completely transparent world that awaits us.

Synthetic Happiness

At this point in our lives, we’ve all come to the realization that we don’t always get what we want. When faced with challenges, things don’t always turn out the way we want. We think we know what makes us happy—but do we really? Is it possible that an alternative option can make us happier?

I believe so. Even though we often have a clear idea of what would make us happy, it’s not always the case. Instead, we are often surprisingly happier when dealt the less favorable option. Much of this is due to our psychological immune system—a system of cognitive processes that helps us adapt and cope with unfavorable events. Essentially, it helps us change our views of the world in the face of negativity so that we can feel better about the worlds we currently find ourselves in. This is what synthetic happiness is—a form of happiness in which we make ourselves.

In an experiment done at Harvard, a photography course was created and students were to choose two pictures to develop. After developing, however, they were asked to give up one picture. There were two conditions in the experiment. In one case, half the students were told that the picture they chose could be easily swapped. The other half was told that their choice of photograph was permanent—it could not be swapped. Over the next three to six days, the students’ satisfaction with their pictures was measured—and the results were startling. The students who were stuck with the picture liked it a lot. However, the students given the opportunity to swap were much less satisfied with the picture. Even after the opportunity to swap ended, they did not like their picture. Turns out, those who were stuck with their picture created their own happiness out of their psychological immune system. This reveals to us that when we are confronted with the things we can’t change, it is in our nature to make the best of it.

We can apply this to our lives in an attempt to reach a happy state of mind. After all, a happy life isn’t about getting what we want, but rather, learning to enjoy what we get. The term “synthetic” may carry around a negative connotation, seeming disingenuine, however, synthetic happiness can be a more long-term, stable form of happiness than natural happiness. Natural happiness is the feeling we get when we get what we want while synthetic happiness is what we make when we don’t get what we want, or what we make when we’re bounded by only one option. In this sense, natural happiness more so relies on external factors whereas synthetic happiness relies on internal factors. Having to rely on getting what we want in order to be happy often leads to an unhappy, unpredictable life. However, happiness derived from learning to live with any outcome is far more stable and applicable to life. Therefore, we should begin to pay attention to the division of happiness. Knowing that you can be happy from getting what you want, but also from not getting what you want is quite profound—and leads us to believe that our everyday worries are blown out of proportion. We can still be happy even when things don’t go our way.

If you’re interested, here’s a relevant TED Talk that explores the idea of synthetic happiness even further!

Life in the Fast Lane

In this day and age, it’s almost impossible to escape the fast-paced lifestyle. We all want things now. It pains us to wait for anything. We’re instantly frustrated if there’s a line to a restaurant, if our computer freezes, or if people don’t answer our texts immediately. We’ve become engulfed in this idea of instant gratification. Instant gratification is the desire to experience fulfilment without delay. We have an innate desire to have what we want when we want it—and typically, we want it now. If we don’t get it now, we become angry, annoyed, and irritated. This idea explains why we have email auto responses, 24-hour support services, downloadable products, and even why we feel the need to get likes and favorites on Instagram pictures, Facebook posts, and tweets right after we post them. It’s become part of our culture—we’re used to getting what we want when we want it—instantly.

Living life briskly may provide us instant gratification—but what about long-term gratification? What about the more deep-rooted happiness that brings us to contentment with our lives? It simply becomes lost in the frenzy. And sadly, because fast has become our norm, those who live slowly are often deemed as castaways. Take monks for example, they live in peace and stillness—away from the instantaneous desires of society. But to us, they’re humans of a different sort. We see them as outcasts, rejects, as if they live in a world outside of ours. But really, we all exist together—and there’s beauty in the stillness in which they live.

I think it’s this stillness that we need more of today to help us be happier. We need to slow down. There’s always room for empty space. It’s the rests in music that give a piece its resonance, or the silences in a speech that give it its poignancy. Stillness may be seen as going nowhere, but pushing forward at the same time. It strips you of yourself but encourages you to think of yourself as part of something greater. It allows time to reflect, slow down, and appreciate the world around us. And I think it is once we find time for stillness that we become less concerned with the superficialities of life. Even for just a mere moment, we abandon our technological craze and replace our impatience with peace. And in this peace, we are less likely to succumb to money, fame, status, addiction, and all the other frivolities in life. Essentially, we move towards a happier state of mind. To me, this happiness means that in the midst of stillness, reflection inspires us to slow down, be passionate, kind, thoughtful—and be the people we want to become.

Marathon Reading

Upon arriving at the Marathon Reading, I was quite surprised to see what the event actually looked like. While I expected to see an ostentatious setup with hundreds of people gathered around to listen to an isolated speaker, I saw quite the opposite. Instead, there were balloons lined across the sidewalk leading to a small tent. There were perhaps fifteen people there, and a speaker that stood at a podium in the front. Although this was quite the contrast to what I expected, there is something quite endearing and personal about the modest setup. It’s untraditional, less intimidating, and fosters an atmosphere of community.

Essentially, this event gave me a great sense of togetherness. People from all parts of the Penn State community were there—from students to professors to alumni. It reminded me that we are all distinct individuals—yet still part of one greater community. Each reader had a distinct reading style. Some were shy and quiet while others radiated confidence. It was interesting to see all the different personalities and characteristics—as no two readers were the same. However, it was the quiet praise each reader received after reading and the fluidity in which readers exchanged places that really gave the event a sense of community. Even for a moment, we were all united and engaged in the same activity at the same time, experiencing something out loud together.

The Marathon Reading additionally promoted a sense of civic engagement as well. Even the mere act of reading is civic. The theme of “The Political Imagination” certainly contributes to this. The reading choices make us more aware of our past history. They draw upon many of the values our country was built upon and bridges the thoughts of the past with the new ideas of the present. The readings kept a unique mixture of ideas flowing through our minds while promoting knowledge and awareness. And it is very inspiring that all this was achieved with a small, humble tent just sitting in the middle of campus.

 

Happiness in the Digital Age

It’s most certainly true that our society today has been shaped largely by the use of social media. Everywhere we look, people are constantly checking Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram—you name it. While it’s also true that social media isn’t entirely detrimental to our happiness, it does have some sort of negative effect on us when used excessively. It drives us crazy. When we get to the point where these media forms replace the oldest concept of human relationships, we lose part of our humanity. We end up replacing genuine emotion with some sort of synthetic happiness that ultimately makes us apathetic and disconnected.

A large reason we’ve become obsessed with social media and technology is because of its ubiquity. It transcends the boundaries of geography and brings us into a community that is quite unregulated. Unlike in real life, there is no set of standards, no particular etiquette required, and no rules on what is and is not acceptable. Police and authority figures don’t exist, which is what makes it so attractive. People can delve into the deepest parts of their soul without fear for their own self-expression. However, the comfort that these communities provide is simultaneously detrimental as an over-reliance on this type of communication causes people to lose contact with the physicality of life. They become distanced and socially inept, often leading to a feeling of unhappiness.

In an attempt to be mindful of the balance of technology and real life social interaction in our daily lives, here are some ways we can preserve our humanity and keep our genuine happiness alive:

  • Limit checking social media to only a few times a day. Perhaps turn off notifications and pop-up settings to avoid distractions.
  • Put away electronics at least half an hour before going to bed to avoid the temptation of staying up all night scrolling through social media.
  • Set aside a day—perhaps once a month where you live in the moment without any technological distractions.
  • Remember to differentiate between talking to your friends and family in person and through a phone screen. Take time catch up with them in person to avoid aloofness and miscommunication.
  • Create a hybrid. Combine technology and human interaction together. Perhaps watch a movie with a friend or take pictures with your family.

It is unquestionable that social media and technology offer great benefits. They make the world more interconnected and accessible. They provide anonymity and autonomy which prove beneficial in unearthing uninhibited self-expression that in turn leads to a liberating happiness. The technological world however, is not a utopia. In the process of this cyber interaction, a certain happiness is paradoxically lost as people become distanced with real life. They no longer know what it truly means to be human—they lose the ability to connect with real people in the real world, which often leads to depression and anxiety. So ultimately, it is our decision now—we must learn to balance technology and human interaction in our chaotic lives to save the happiness of humanity.