The Matrix: A Non-Fiction Surveillance is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as a close watch kept over someone or something (as by a detective). Traditionally, it was an invasion of privacy with the goal of exposing illicit activities.Surveillance was always associated with feelings of fear, anxiety, stress, and distrust. In the past century, a new form of surveillance has emerged.As Shoshana Zuboff described it, surveillance Capitalism depends on exploiting and controlling human nature. Companies like Google and Facebook extract information from us, and employ it to re-design our behavior with the goal of profit maximization. Quite simply, these companies are using technology not only to invade our privacy, but also to gradually, slightly, imperceptibly change our own behavior and perception. The technologies being used target our conscious and subconscious behavior and emotions. They tap into our desires and manipulate us into reacting the way they want us to. We have willfully surrendered our free will and agreed to be manipulated and engaged rather than actively making free undirected choices. Their goal is to automate us.Surveillance capitalism is even being used by governments to control societies as a whole by affecting elections, suppressing opposition, and directing the population to adopt the government's way of thinking.

The Matrix is a science fiction movie about humans trapped in a simulation being controlled by machines, while other humans play with the switches. In the world of surveillance capitalism, is the Matrix still a science fiction?

Why do we "trust this device"? It is no longer a secret that these tools are being used to surveil us and modify our behavior in order to maximize company profits. Yet somehow, even when Mark Zuckerberg is testifying before the Senate post the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook was still making billions. So why is this type of surveillance not associated with fear and distrust ? We do not fear it because the tools are attractive objects, give us a false of control, and have embedded themselves into our existence. Fear is an emotional response largely motivated by what we perceive threatens our existence. This response can then be tempered by a conscious realization of the situation. These platforms surveilling our every move and mood are purposefully designed in a way that attracts us to it, like humans are attracted to beauty. It is not violent nor ugly. We perceive it as an immovable object, incapable of threatening our existence. Meanwhile this "object" is taking on a physiological nervous system capable of its own capable of creeping into our conscious and subconscious mind.This nervous system is learning how to manipulate the human mind and take advantage of our insecurities. No wonder Google, Facebook, Apple, ByteDance? and all other companies pour millions of dollars in product design. Furthermore, this nervous system is marketed as tools that are there to serve us and make our lives easier and more efficient, giving us a false sense of control. Meanwhile we have become preys to this instrument. We, the users of email, social media, health apps, and smartphones in general are in a continuous state of distraction. Without knowing why, we find ourselves on social media and unintentionally jump from one platform to the other, and before you know it more than an hour has gone by.We cannot stop. Everyday a new tool emerges and we dive right into it. An app for monitoring our steps and calorie count goes on the market. We buy into it, soon enough we are no longer able to monitor ourselves and our health without that app. We are clearly not in control. Finally, these tools are embedded into our daily lives and we have relied on them enormously that we are unable to envision an alternative.These tools are the new norm and we do not fear what we know, or think we know. We start believing that we cannot function, keep track of our events, find a date, find a job, have a social life, listen to music, stay healthy without these tools. We have surrendered into a fascist way of thinking in that don't question things if the trains run on time.

Push Back We need to start seeing things the way they really are. The internet is a physiological nervous system. It is a being on its own that can be used by companies and governments to surveil, control, and alter our behavior. This is a real frightening violent threat to human beings and our freedom of thought. As such, we need to treat the beautiful tools which are at our disposal, but not under our control, as a hostile agent with a mind of its own. We must activate our defense mechanism. We cannot put the genie back in the bottle, nor should we. Technology in itself is neutral. First we must fear it and treat it as if we were being followed around the clock by a being that wants to destroy us. It should be that dramatic in order to activate our defense mechanism. Since we are not going to get rid of this physiological nervous system, we must internalize the fear and control it. We are not its submissive, passive, engaged victims. We can start by taking baby steps like not swipe up, turning off all notifications, decreasing our interaction with it. An even better option would be going cold turkey by getting rid of all of the tools that are surveilling us for profit or control, and replacing them with different ones. Personally, I'm a baby steps kind of person. Second, we must educate ourselves and those around us that there are other alternatives being tools that do not collect, store, and process data. Finally and most importantly, we must educate the generations which are growing up believing that this physiological nervous system is their security blanket. We must teach them how to code! They will understand this creature, how it works, and fight it with its own tools.