In Frank’s article he explains that in society people can no longer rebel against the system because all the advertising that is geared towards us is encouraging us to do so. How could we possibly do what we want and go our own way if every company is pushing us in that direction? He’s saying that people’s natural sense to fight back against the higher powers is much more difficult to realize since doing the opposite of what they tell us to do seems like the normal regular way to live our lives. 
This ad is a great example of what he’s trying to say in his article. This ad is encouraging us to break the rules and do whatever it is that we want. How are you supposed to really rebel when you’re explicitly told to do so??
I definitely believe that he is right in this article. Most ads that I see online or when I watch tv are trying to portray their products as the new edgy thing and in doing so try to tell us to fight against the norm and authority. So if rebellion is being encouraged by other is it still really rebellion? Are you still fighting the man if he’s explaining to you exactly how to do it?
In Carrs piece he speaks of a man that had a severe stroke. The result of it was he lost the function of the left side of his body. He underwent a normal bout of physical therapy and although he regained some function but his hand was still extremely damaged and he used a cane to walk. Only after he underwent a experimental therapy where he did mundane tasks such as wash a window for up to 8 hours a day, did he regain the majority and function and ability to walk on his own. I think this happens to us in our lives of using the Internet and technology.
For me I know that I’ve almost been conditioned by my iPhone. I can open up my messages and type a text without even looking at my screen at this point. Without even thinking each morning when I wake up I grab my phone and check the same sites and apps. At this point I think it’s ingrained in my brain. Even when sometimes I move my apps out of their normal place it throws me off since my brain is almost fully conditioned to know exactly where my finger needs to go at all times.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you say “how are we supposed to really rebel if we’re being told to do so?”. I think companies try and market the “individual” and stepping outside the lines. But in reality they’ve painted the lines and they’ve set the playing field
Its true that these days its hard to feel like we are walking down our own road away from the norm because in reality we have these corporations pushing us to go down that path with their invisible hands. I agree completely with the feeling of being conditioned by my phone as I made a similar argument to the man who had a stroke. We have been conditioned to see our phones as an extension of our limbs in a way.
When you connected neuroplasticity to the iPhone I definitely understood that. The overall use of technology has become a part of the way we function.
I like how you explained that companies try to get us to get the newest and edgiest thing in order to fit it. The ad you used is a perfect example of how corporations try to get us to think for ourselves and do what we want but in reality are trying to make a profit off of us. Moreover, your argument about how technology can influence our brains and retrain it was particularly supported when you referred to how often you use your phone and how your phone has carved this special spot into your brain and has trained it to automatically think about checking social media and looking at text messages the second you wake up.