What would you change about modern society?
We are trapped.
Directly before you is a nearly complete library of all human knowledge since the dawn of civilization itself. A network or webway of infinite human knowledge. A sharpening system for the sword of the mind.
But what was offered up to us as a beacon of human intelligence and development has turned to our own Tower of Babel, enslaving us and pitting man against man, woman against woman, mind against machine. And it so devilishly claimed our lives with the gentle beckoning of Dopamine.
We are addicted. But we are breaking out.
If I could change society, just one thing about it, I would remove the dopamine driven products from the internet. I firmly believe that this would be a net benefit for society. The very tools used to addict us, driven out from the internet, would render us a better, more focused, more social society.
The benefits of the internet are almost entirely outside the realm of the dopamine driven social networks and sales engines, which fuel the raging fires of consumerism and distraction. For example, there are very few websites for historical content that have gone insanely viral, nor for the research of chemistry and biology.
Instead, what I see thrust upon the unaware viewer is a writhing, filter distorted heap of envy fuel. Keeping up with the Jones has apparently become the trend, and judging a book by its ever so aesthetically pleasing but surface level cover is now the norm. Influencers hawk their mass market trash on you under the guise of helping make your life easier, or even organizing the things they sold you just last week!
This has resulted in several generations of people who feel dull, foggy, unfocused, depressed, and hopeless. It resulted in me.
I will be turning 27 soon. I have wasted seven years of my life, feeding my brain constant, delightful stimulation, while my confidence and direction faded from my mind. I can hardly focus. To study for an hour is a difficult task. To access memories of things that happened to me years ago is a struggle.
I’m not alone. Around me, I hear people complaining of the same things. Difficulty remembering things, poor sleep, and constant distraction.
But there is a way out.
Start today, start RIGHT NOW.
Acknowledge that there is a problem, that this corporate sales network is draining the life from you, that you can break free from it! Stop scrolling, swiping, liking, and clogging your mind with meaningless rot!
Focus. Breathe. Close your eyes, and sit in the silence, for one minute. It’s hard, and you didn’t even realize it until now. You didn’t realize how much your mind is moving at one time, processing the feeds and streams and channels you endlessly consume.
An Individual Cure
None of us is able to cure the other. I can’t offer you a perfected system of things to undo what has been done. What I can offer you is the steps I have taken.
1. Delete social media. All of it. They’re converting your joy into depression, your depression to data, and then selling it to the highest bitter for profit.
2. Make a plan to hang out with your friends without the phones. Go for coffee together, and TALK. Phones stay in the car, or another room.
3. In this day and age, we have to have a phone. But dumbing it down to eliminate the distractions is perfectly doable. Turn off the notifications, set your screen color to greyscale, and delete unnecessary apps and games.
4. Start ingesting long form content. Set your phone aside, pick up a book, watch a movie. Take the time to focus in on details.
5. Take time to journal, or just write out some thoughts on paper. This helps your mind close out thoughts that would otherwise clutter your brain.
6. Order your time. Taking control of your time will help you focus more on what is in front of you.
7. Order your home or living space. You can do it, even if it is hard. Small fixes lead to big rewards.
8. Stop buying things you don’t need. New books, journals, organizers, etc, won’t motivate you to do the work, doing the work motivates you to do the work. GET STARTED. Don’t let people sell you a life of consumption.
We can stop the algorithm ruining our lives, but in order to do it, we have to be willing to separate ourselves from it.
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