Chapter 5

Bo Burnham’s “Inside” deals with many aspects of Information Privacy, including ethical issues and the emotional manipulation of being present and monitored at all times when online. Through the recording and release of this one-man show demonstrating his isolation throughout the COVID-19 lockdowns, Burnham conveys his experience of questioning his sense of self, the digital world, and the ethical concerns of being chronically online.

“I’m never releasing this so it doesn’t matter anyway”

This quote demonstrates the pressure to be producing content for others to consume rather than keeping experiences and information private, leading to songs such as “Welcome to the Internet” and phrases like “I’m sorry I was gone but I made you some content”. This dissection and critique of the amount of information on the internet is expressed by Burnham to convey that viewers need to reflect on how their personal data and consumption is affecting the internet [2]. Burnham, like many young adults, trades his privacy for social engagement and validation through the internet, bringing up the issue of the pressure felt to share everything about yourself.

Conversely, Burnham expresses his overwhelming frustrations that come up when “No one can shut the f--k up about anything, anytime”. He questions why this is, and why we feel compelled to share our opinions everywhere on the internet [5]. His conflicting feelings bring up the issues stemming from always feeling watched and held accountable. After the COVID-19 lockdowns, we as a society struggle to decide whether to continue relying on technology for social connection. “White Woman’s Instagram” demonstrates people’s need to feel part of the status quo and present this perfect ideal life online [3].

Bo Burnham consistently struggles between his brand of being a comedian producing content and conveying his genuine feelings of isolation and stress over the lockdown, relying on technology to fuel his connection through topics such as “FaceTime with my mom (Tonight)” and “Sexting”. Considering the possible incorrectness of information online, he questions, “Is this a quote from Lord of the Rings wrongly attributed to Martin Luther king?” [1].

Also explored is the emotional manipulation of the youth to go online and join the social sphere, highlighting issues such as uninformed consent to releasing private information. He questions whether giant digital media corporations exploiting the neurochemical drama of our children for profit is ethical, and if we should try to keep children off of technology and away from potentially harmful information and situations [4]. This brings to attention the need for regulations on corporations to make sure they are not taking advantage of people’s need to have a social media presence online.

Notes:

• Bo Burnham is choosing to record and then publish his own experience through the isolating experience of COVID

  • “I’m never releasing this so it doesn't matter anyway”

  • Trading privacy for social engagement and validation online

    • “Every interaction should be in the interior digital space”

      • Physical vs digital connection

      • “Inside” his life, yet separated by a camera (which is seen in frame multiple times across the movie)

      • Impacts of technology and computing on real-life relationships?

        • On one hand, it connected us through COVID when we weren’t allowed to be in person, yet its distancing impacts are still felt after the fallout of covid

  • Recording and sharing leads to a feeling of being watched, issues on surveillance

    • Disconnection from reality

      • Privacy violations and self exploitation lead to a disconnect from sense of self and community

• Self exploitation for online connection and self-expression

  • “I’m sorry I was gone but I made you some content”

    • Overwhelming feeling of HAVING to produce content for people to consume, never ending consumption of other’s personal information and content creation

  • The entire movie is made from inside his home, everyone knows how he lives, the floor plan of his house, what he looks and sounds like, his personal thoughts and feelings

  • Talks about his comedy and his struggle to not give up “joking at a time like this”

  • American white guy

  • Turning 30 alone

  • Religious mentions: Father I regret it, cross light

  • Mentions of suicidal thoughts (followed by “dont do it, just dont”), anxiety and mental health issues

  • Feeling inadequate

    • “When grandpa was 30 he went to Vietnam, meanwhile when 30 I built a birdhouse with my mom”

• Compare this to reflect on how data is used like how Burnham is thinking through his online presence and experiences

• This one-man special got soooo popular, all his information is out in the world.

• FaceTime with mom as both computing and brings into thought the privacy we have communicating with those close to us online

• “Welcome to the Internet” where everything is out there and online

  • Welcome to the internet, find any info, any famous women’s feet, advocate for a cause or hurt it, 9 year old who died, random guy sending explicit photos, see a man beheaded, say every thought you have, quirky quiz, a little bit of everything all of the time

  • Can find anything about anyone or any interest, showing a lack of information privacy

  • Being a comedian is his brand

    • Struggling between authenticity vs online facade/presence/perfect image

    • What is truly real online?

  • White woman’s instagram: talks about how it’s not necessarily real, idealist

  • “Is this a quote from lord of the rings wrongly attributed to Martin Luther king?”

    • Discusses the issues with so much information out there, is it all correct/correctly attributed?

  • Tells how social media portrays a certain image with stereotypes, people can share all information

  • “Can anyone… shut the f--k up? About anything? For… say one hour? Does everyone HAVE to share all of their opinions all the time?”

  • Information on Jeffrey Bezos

  • Terms of service on explicit sites

• Certain topics aren’t talked about anymore, like how there are songs about working class but not labor exploitation

• “Everything I write has to have a deeper meaning to it”

• Emotional manipulation of the masses to be online and join the social sphere online

  • Giant digital media corporations exploiting the neurochemical drama of our children for profit. Bad call?

    • Letting kids spread information with no knowledge of privacy and safety too young on iPads

  • Flattening human experience into a lifeless exchange of value that benefits no one except for Silicon Valley ppl

  • Sexting (big information privacy), sharing information, miscommunication 

  • Doing problematic things online when young (Aladdin) and regretting it forever because the internet never forgets

  • Holding people accountable for their past actions

  • That funny feeling

• Critique of digital culture and the pressure to put everything out there or be ashamed, dichotomy of the two extremes

  • Corporate responsibility to consider the ethical implications of violating user’s privacy and manipulation in order to get more funds

  • Being connected yet feeling alone (turning 30)

• Commentary on the modern human experience in the digital world

Sources:

1.  Richler, J. Social pressure to share fake news. (Nat Rev Psychol 2, 265 (2023)). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-023-00183-y (Accessed September 30, 2024).

2. Nouh, M. et al., Social Information Leakage: Effects of Awareness and Peer Pressure on User Behavior (Springer, 2014), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07620-1_31 (Accessed: September 30, 2024).

3.  Rajmohan A.K, Shivshankar. HYPER VIGILANCE AND PARANOIA: PROBLEMATIZING SELF ON SOCIAL MEDIA (Literary Endeavour, 2016).  https://www.literaryendeavour.org/files/ampllasgurr5vlcrnhvb/Jan%202016.pdf#page=50 (Accessed: September 30, 2024).

4.  Richards, D., Caldwell, P. H. Y., & Go, H., "Impact of Social Media on the Health of Children and Young People"(Wiley, 2020), https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jpc.13023?saml_referrer (Accessed: September 30, 2024).

5.  Shabahang, R., Shim, H., Aruguete, M. S., & Zsila, Á., "Oversharing on Social Media: Anxiety, Attention-Seeking, and Social Media Addiction Predict the Breadth and Depth of Sharing" (Psychological Reports, 2024), https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941221122861 (Accessed: September 30, 2024).