SoylentNews

HughPickens.com [hughpickens.com] writes:

Caitlin Dewey reports in the Washington Post that 'Peeple' — basically Yelp, but for humans will launch in November. Subtitled “character is destiny”, Peeple is an upcoming app that promises to “revolutionize the way we’re seen in the world through our relationships” by allowing you to assign reviews of one to five stars to everyone you know [washingtonpost.com].: your exes, your co-workers, the old guy who lives next door. You can’t opt out — once someone puts your name in the Peeple system, it’s there unless you violate the site’s terms of service. And you can’t delete bad or biased reviews [theguardian.com] — that would defeat the whole purpose. “People do so much research when they buy a car or make those kinds of decisions,” says co-founder Julia Cordray. “Why not do the same kind of research on other aspects of your life?”

According to Caitlin one does not have to stretch far to imagine the distress and anxiety that such a system will cause even a slightly self-conscious person; it’s not merely the anxiety of being harassed or maligned on the platform — but of being watched and judged, at all times, by an objectifying gaze to which you did not consent. "If you’re one of the people who miss bullying kids in high school, then Peeple is definitely going to be the app for you!," says Mike Morrison. "I’m really looking forward to being able to air all of my personal grievances, all from the safety of my phone. Thanks to the app, I’ll be able to potentially ruin someone’s life [metronews.ca], without all the emotional stress that would occur if I actually try to fix the problem face-to-face."

---

Original Submission