the!same!way!that!the!protagonists!within!the!dystopian!depictions!were!aware!they!were!missing! something,!we!as!the!people!of!the!digital!age!can!begin!to!see!the!gap;!and!it!is!in!this!gap!where!the! future! of! sensory! design,! senseware,! should! be! positioned.! This! consciousness! is! thanks! to! the! warning! flag! that! futurologists! have! waved.! Blumenfield! states;! “The'future'is'not'predictable,'it'is' not'predetermined,'and'it'can'be'affected'by'individual'choices'and'decisions.”56'The!future!is!not!set! in! stone! and! we! have! time! to! intervene! and! dictate! the! direction! we! will! travel! in! as! we! advance! further!into!the!digital!age.!It!needs!to!be!understood!that!“the'individual'can'make'a'difference'and' that'the'future'can'be'faced'directly.”57!A! dystopia! is! intended! as! an! entirely! pessimistic! forecast! of! our! future,! providing! ‘what! if?’! scenarios.! By! catching! our! attention! through! the! creation! of! fear,! these! fictional! sources! can! teach! us! something:! the! amplification! of! existing! technologies! does! not! bode! well! for! the! future! of! our! sensory! experiences! and! the! desire! for! the! physical! will! always! be! apparent.! Blumenfield! tells! us;! “the' goal' of' forecasts' and' predictions' should' not' be' to' form' an' accurate' picture' of' tomorrow,' but' to' help' us' make' better' decisions' now.”58'But! have! we! already! concreted!our!relationship!with!technology?!! ! Hara!suggests;! ' Basically,'consumers'unknowingly'move'in'whatever'direction'allows'them'to'lead'an'idle'life.' We'can’t'always'claim'that'everything'that’s'convenient'is'no'good,'but'certainly'the'human' tendency'to'slack'off'has'intensified'remarkably,'due'to'marketing'backed'by'technology.59' ' Our! materialistic! culture! and! elected! relationship! with! a! small! window! of! modern! technology! has! provided!us!with!a!means!of!tapping!our!inner!sloth.!The!nightmare!marriage!between!laziness!and! technology! has! embedded! itself! in! our! mentality! towards! the! objects! of! the! digital! age.! Hoyle’s! characters!can!remain!seated!for!the!whole!day,!carrying!out!tasks!from!their!‘vision!desks’.!Black! Mirror’s! technological! landscape! provides! endless! ways! to! make! life! easier,! with! meals! produced! from!touchscreen!vending!machines,!toothpaste!dispensed!at!the!gestural!swipe!of!the!hand!and!a! tracksuit! uniform! worn! by! all.! George! Orwell! gives! society! a! strict! structure,! a! Big! Brother! and! Ingsoc! to! do! your! thinking! for! you,! while! Huxley! provides! a! drug! that! allows! you! to! escape! inside! your!own!head.!With!no!genuine!sensory!experience!apparent!in!any!of!this,!can!we!hold!technology! solely!responsible!for!this!dumbing!and!numbing?!‘The!Shallows’!author!Nicholas!Carr,!comments,!!
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56!Blumenfield,!Scanning'the'Future,!P.17! 57!Blumenfield,!Scanning'the'Future,!P.10! 58!Blumenfield,!Scanning'the'future,!P.23! 59!Hara,!Designing'Design,!P.145!
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