Topic > Facebook's War on Free Will

Traditionally, "hackers" are those who defy order in order to harm others. Facebook used this primitive connotation of “hacker” to challenge the order, but for a different purpose. A purpose that still stands against the binding order of society, but with the aim of creating a new frontier of programming and thought. Mark Zuckerberg contributed massively to the connotation of the word “hacker”. He transformed the term using his company's power from harmful and threatening to progressive and beneficial. Zuckerberg made hacking a desirable trait in his own employees, giving it productive value. Facebook itself is intended to spread individualism in Zuckerberg's mind, but it may be doing the opposite. With the enormous publicity that one's information can get on a social media platform like Facebook, users may behave differently, even without realizing it. Users may be tempted to turn their expressions into the social norm. With the integration of algorithms created by "hackers", Facebook users may lose freedom of choice over their computers. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayNon-Obvious Features of Facebook's "Transparent" AlgorithmsWhile the Facebook hackers' progressive vision allows people to express themselves and create new and original ideas, it is by slowly creating a platform that facilitates mass compliance due to the nature of the algorithms and the publicity of its users' information. Defining the term "hacker" in Zuckerberg's mind reveals the intentions he intended to have with Facebook, to revolutionize the world, advancing without the weight of rules and limitations. This new term he created would be seen not only in his engineering team, but also in every user of his company. In his chapter “Mark Zuckerberg's War on Free Will,” Foer observes: “To hack is to be a good worker, a responsible citizen of Facebook, a microcosm of the way the company has taken the language of radical individualism and has used in society. service of conformism” (60). This “radical individualism” that Foer refers to suggests that a hacker, in Zuckerberg's terms, should be able to make his own decisions without the influence of external sources. This can allow the company to instill its value into many of our daily lives as it gains enormous insights into all its users and, to that extent, the way they think. Facebook itself begins to transform this rebellious essence into one that promotes conformity among individuals. Having the ability to share opinions that can be viewed by anyone can be daunting and can paradoxically lead to a conformist mentality. Foer states, “With the looming threat of our embarrassing information being broadcast, we will behave better” (60). In this case, fear is the catalyst for those who abide by social norms. The fear of their personal or embarrassing information being displayed for the world to see limits the information they publish, shaped by social pressures. Users could take advantage of this phenomenon by publishing posts aimed at other people, perhaps incriminating ones, and could change the way these people behave after viewing them, not only online but also in real life. These events happen quite often for those who use Facebook consistently and ultimately add to the plague of conformity that affects every user on Facebook. Hacking has become a term.