Tag: technology

Mess media

I have been taking a break from conventional social media. Specifically youtube and instagram. My instagram is about 80% people who I actually know, 5% strangers and 15% news media. On youtube I follow people who relay the news usually in a comical way and a few related to my field of work. I rarely use facebook as that is mostly comprised of crazy family members who I know too much about to be able to appreciate their online persona.

Overall social media is a bunch of people shouting at the same time and this creates a lot of noise in my head. I used to believe it made me more connected to happenings in the world and my social circle but I now appreciate the benefit of being in my own crazy thoughts. Music and television are another source of noise I am trying to reduce.

I used to believe that reading the newspapers was something that educated and thinking people do but the newspapers have become as trashy as the tabloids at the checkout counter. They are filled with opinions, biased viewpoints and many articles are sponsored by special interest groups or corporations. Its understandable. In a world filled with different forms of media and constant demands on your attention, companies have to compete aggressively to earn that attention. Unfortunately it has become a race to the bottom. Sex, violence, fear mongering, hyperbole, no stone is unturned to achieve shock value. Our level of tolerance just increases until it takes greater shock to get our attention.

Eventually this pushes us so far from where we sustainably and holistically should be and the people in our social circle may think we are mentally limited if we do not know the latest manufactured outrage story. Which is replaced by another outrage story every second.

I understand the butterfly effect and sincerely believe that we are all connected in some way. We all share this existence and have and effect on it, but I don’t need to know if a tree fell in the forest. I know that trees fall in the forest, but I don’t need a breaking news update every minute about it.

We are in the information age but the flood of information is useless for the most part. It is mostly click bait that adds nothing to our lives.

Additionally there is the gossip and reality tv spectrum of media. Where we see a push of negative images of women as catty, confrontational, antagonistic, cantankerous, hypocritical, consumerist and fickle.

Im not slut shaming when I say that we are marketed a paradoxical way of life where prominent celebrities gain their notoriety via selling their sexuality and less so their intellectual and artistic talents. The following are notable people associated with the sex industry at varied levels: Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, Pamela Anderson, Cardi B, Nene Leaks, Charlie Sheen, Howard Stern, Hanna Montana, Madonna etc. Some things we don’t need to know. The promote us to have dirty minds – as if we needed any help. What people do in private, or are interested in we do not need to know as long as it isn’t harmful or criminal. I mention this because its just more clickbait noise that is marketed to us.

Now that we have been bombarded by useless information, our minds become cluttered. Having a complete unadulterated thought now takes conscious effort. It may take meditation or isolation or fasting just to get back to who you truly are.  So in conclusion it can be good to cut the cord from the 200 channels of cable, 10 social media platforms, 25 podcasts, 200 facebook friends, 100 instagram friends, 30 youtube channels, 150 phone contacts, 1000 unread emails, and dedicate your focus on yourself.

Relationship goals

The internet is a funny place. Being a generation X-er gives the privilege of seeing the development of computer technology. Televisions when from black and white to thousands of colors. A floppy disk held something like 1.4Mb. I have a flash drive that is smaller than a nickel and holds 32Gb which is tens of thousands of floppy disks. The strange part about all the tech advancement is that we have not gotten more free time. Relative to the baby boomer generation wages don’t go as far as they did in prior years. So many people work multiple jobs or are pert of the gig economy in addition to their 9-5. Notifications are always pinging on your phone. You have tens of accounts to keep up with. Colleges cost more, taxes are higher, traffic fines are more numerous, there are tolls everywhere, your being spied on constantly, your cognitive abilities are diminished, nature is being destroyed, the list goes on and on. So technology is great(yeah right) but it brought with it additional work, additional bills, and additional anxiety. Nuclear energy is great at producing cheap electricity, but then there is the disposal of the waste, the nuclear weapon issue, accidents, etc. Even Einstein regretted his contribution to nuclear research.

Now to the main topic of discussion, relationships. We have these memes online that say “relationship goals” which take a millisecond snapshot of a couple displaying affection or laughing as if they are in a Caribbean resort commercial. These memes are misleading because most of us smile in pictures, even at funerals(if you take pictures at funerals). The other bazillion seconds of life are a variety of emotions and experiences. Most people don’t take pictures when they are crying, on the toilet, at a job interview, in divorce court, in a car accident, studying for an exam, arguing, getting augmentation surgery, whatever… Life is at times enjoyable, at times difficult and a lot of the time just repetitive drab. Relationships are the same.

So if we look at a “relationship goals” meme and believe that is the all encompassing experience we will go through, that is a set-up for disappointment. In the dating process the goal is to make the best attempt to find the most sustainable partnership where both parties are able to compliment each other lets say 75%+ of the time. The other 25% of the time people should probably have some time to themselves to avoid the 25% of the time they are not complimenting their significant other.

A relationship just like technology has to be something that improves your life. Not just a new gadget that gives you retail therapy then later either puts you in debt or throw it in the trash because its now obsolete. For example you might need a car but instead you buy one of those one-wheel hover things. The one-wheeled hover thing is new and cool but you cant put your groceries or luggage in it and you cant take it on the highway to work. Its not a sustainable vehicle. The goal should have been, not to obtain what you say in the cool video or poster of the one-wheeled thing. The goal should have been to get a vehicle that has utility. Yes, you have to pay insurance, fuel and repairs but you also have the capacity to get farther and faster with more, ultimately increasing your free time.

There will be ups and downs yes, but may the best, most informed decision based upon necessity and sustainability. Do not compromise long term sustainability for a one millisecond snapshot of happiness.