Despite the dystopian overtones of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror, it turns out there’s a real demand for the technology showcased in the Netflix anthology series. In fact, a new YouGov survey of 1,714 people showed that almost a third want to use a certain device from the show. Which one? Spoiler: it’s not the bee drones that burrow into your skull.
Remember that implant that allows you to record everything you’ve seen and heard, footage readily available to watch later on? Despite the episode The Entire History of You containing a powerful message against the use of such tech – particularly if you’re married to a woman played by Jodie Whittaker who you suspect is having an affair – 29% of people said they were fairly likely or very likely to use it if it existed.
Plus, 21% of people said they’d use implants that allow you to see through other’s eyes (as seen in White Christmas) and a virtual reality world where you can live forever (San Junipero).
Interestingly, the younger the person surveyed, the higher the chance they’d want to use a VR afterlife: 44% of 18-24-year-olds said they’d be likely to plug into the system, compared to 16% of 50-64-year-olds, and only 8% of 65+-year-olds. Take from that what you will.
On the other end of the spectrum, only 7% of people said they’d be willing to adopt the scoring system in Nosedive, in which every social interaction is rated by participants. A tad worrying considering that China is thinking of giving every citizen a rating by 2020.
Perhaps scarier though, almost a third of parents (31%) said they’d genuinely be willing to use the Arkangel surveillance technology on their kids. Terrible news for the future privacy of children, but, judging by the Arkangel episode, even worse news for the parents' faces.
Black Mirror is available now on Netflix
