As mentioned in previous posts, in the novel The Circle technology plays a key role in the dystopian society. The company and its many employees use technology as a means to gain extensive information about the outside world. The information they gain is then often used strategically to gain power over the masses. This personal power the Circle has is evident throughout the story, as many employees and other Circlers just succumb to the rules of the company by ditching their personalities and livelihoods. Rather than carrying out their lives unaccompanied by the Circle and its presence, citizens willingly let the company into their lives and intervene as much as necessary.

Mae is a prime example of this process on a person. When she first started at the company the Circle, she was aware of herself and her defining traits. She was fascinated with the social media that was highly valued in the company, but it clearly wasn’t valued that much in her own life. However, as Mae rose in the ranks at the company, she slowly began to lose her unique personality and become one with the company. In addition to her losing her identity, she also began to lose many of her outside relationships as she became more and more like a robot. Within the story, the character Mercer points out Mae’s superficiality and how she has changed so much since joining the company. Mercer describes her at one point as one of the Circle clones saying that she has become “incredibly boring” now. However Mae is unable to make this distinction that is so obvious to Mercer, to her everything is the same. The separation she once had from the virtual world to the real world is no longer apparent in her life. Her dependency on social media has taken over her life, altering the world around her.

This virtual utopian world The Circle has created that eventually becomes Mae’s new reality can be seen happening in our world today. The sense of distinction between real life and simulated life is becoming increasingly smaller in today’s culture with the many developments and advancements of technology. Although the world and its many citizens have thrived off the advantages of technology, virtually everyone has become too dependent on its easiness and the many services it provides us with. Despite the belief that certain generations are more reliant than others, in actuality people of all ages rely on technology and the Internet to a certain degree.

A piece of technology that epitomizes the decreasing division between what is really and what isn’t is the three-sixty glasses that have been released in the market the past couple of years. These virtually reality headsets provide consumers with the ability to become total immersed into whatever video, game or app they are using. The headsets make the virtual reality experience so real that the user often forgets the computer, headgear and accessories and act exactly as they would in the real world. This step into making the virtual world seem more like the real world is a slippery slope for society. As seen in the novel, once you become accustomed to the false reality that it provides it becomes harder and harder for you to distance yourself from it.