What if you are not allowed to go on that vacation because you don't have enough Instagram followers?
That happens in China. Well, not exactly. They don't use "Instagram followers" as the measurement. They use social credit score.
In 2010, China began testing this at Suining. If you're more than 14 years old, you start with 1,000 points--which will be added and deducted based on so many things, like your education level and how nice you are online & on the road.
Speeding up during a red traffic light? Criticizing the government online? Say bye to your points, fast train bookings, luxury hotel bookings, your dream house, your dream job, and eventually your friends. They would leave you because being near you would get their points taken too.
Basically, your social credit score is your life. You can't do "bad things". It'll only screw up your life.
This Suining experiment is only the beginning. More cities are participating. The government is working on this with Baidu, a big tech company, to get the entire nation in this system by 2020.
Sounds like a scary dystopian fiction (read: a Black Mirror episode)?
It has some similarities. The difference: in the Black Mirror episode, the rating is based on people's judgment. In China, it is based on the nation and business power.
But still, not handling a bad day perfectly can send you on a downward spiral.
Thoughts?
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