Smart glasses are the latest intrusive technological innovation that no one asked for. Instead of just helping you see better or blocking out the punishing light rays of the sun, smart glasses are essentially computers you wear on your face. They can mirror your phone or laptop screen, send and receive phone calls and text messages, and most importantly for the burgeoning creep economy, capture pictures, audio and video.
A Party Encounter and the Privacy Dilemma
At a recent Los Angeles party, the author encountered a celebrity from the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, described as a “friend of” in Bravo reality TV parlance. To prove the encounter to friends, the author resorted to a mirror trick to snap a candid photo without the celebrity noticing. This moment sparked a lingering feeling of being part of a persistent shattering of the few walls of privacy left in society.
The author reflects, “I spent actual time from the ticking clock of my life to assess how to take a candid photo of a famous person trying to drink a glass of wine. What the hell is my problem?” This introspection led to the realization that smart glasses, from companies like Meta and Viture, cost about $300 to $500, or nearly $1,300 for a high-end variety from Xreal, representing one more incursion by technology into what is left of the natural world.
Restrictions and the Persistence of Tech Industry
Many courts have banned smart glasses in their proceedings, but people are still trying to bring them in anyway. Cruise lines, movie theater chains, and restaurants are restricting smart glasses, too. Norway is planning a temporary ban for certain public places. Eventually, there won’t be anywhere to use them, outside of an old barn, a closet, or an abandoned Hooters restaurant.
Despite widespread resistance, the tech industry persists in suggesting consumers buy smart glasses. The obscene profits that Apple collects from the umpteenth edition of the iPhone have seduced Silicon Valley into chasing another world-changing innovation that no one can live without. However, the author notes, “We already have the iPhone. And the Apple Watch. And the iPad. I have enough gadgets in my life to pretend like I’m a particularly washed James Bond.”
The Unique Application of Smart Glasses
Smart glasses have one actual, unique application – monetizing every last second of life, whether you want it to or not. They allow users to film people without asking first, fueling digital attention on a scale and with an ease of use that is unparalleled. The author concludes, “Now, we can all be a ‘friend of’ in the Real Housewives of Wherever the Hell You Are, performing our silly little dramas for an audience that might never be satisfied.”
