Tag: social media

The Slow, Distressing Demise of Real Life

Increasingly, people are choosing big corporations over other alternatives. From retail to professional services, there’s an app for that! And it’s so convenient. You can do it all from your phone!

This is the 21st Century American dream come true. We are lazy, distracted, “busy,” and consequently, we want machines to do it all for us. Never mind that it was the machines themselves and our addictions to and reliance upon them that did this to us. This is where we are and there’s nothing to be done. Read More

The Perils of Non-Conformity

Ours is a conformist society.  Social media has made it even more so.  The vast majority of us are afraid to appear different from our peers.  Social media allows us to create and enforce peer standards that bind us to (locally) acceptable thoughts and behaviors.  We do what we must to fit in.  Woe to s/he who doesn’t.

The non-conformist exists primarily because there are still people so stubbornly independent that they cannot conform, and couldn’t even if they wanted to, which they don’t.  This would be okay  if society hadn’t organized itself to stamp out non-conformity wherever it appears.  Society is very good at this because society is composed of individual people, each acting in accord with the belief systems of their peers.  It’s as though society was a splintered mirror with millions of shards!  The non-conformist finds that through their atypical thoughts or behavior, they have taken on an army of others who exist (seemingly) to make sure nothing is said or done that isn’t part of the group catechism of proper thinking. Read More