augmenting reality into obsolescence
i lie in my bed with my partner. we are cuddling naked.
ze pulls out a smart phone. and twitters, texts, plays a game, watches a video.
i wonder why my bed and company feels like a parking spot for zes body.
i am out with friends, eating food. they are all on their phones, twittering,
"I am out eating food with friends." that is all they are doing.
we're living in a time of all-consuming technology. when did digital interaction become more desirable than face-to-face? rather than look to ourselves, our surroundings, and our thoughts to inspire and entertain, we seek the greener grass of the internetal hive-mind.
the problem is not the technology. the technology has a lot of amazing potential. the problem is that in our obsession, we have devalued everything else. and it has a price.
look at the GPS, a case of handing a fish to a hungry man. how many stories are there of people driving off cliffs, into rivers and buildings, etc because the GPS told them to? people are unlearning how to navigate, to the point that they believe they can't find their way without a GPS.
alleviate boredom by going online, as opposed to making your own fun. how many people waste many unsatisfying hours online because they are "bored"?
"see the people you want to see," closing and incestualizing the circle of your interaction, ignoring those around you that disturb your worldview, e.g. homeless.
you can escape the world around you. i was once addicted to an MMORPG. i was escaping my world of depression, failure, and confusion for a simple world with attainable goals, uncomplicated solutions, and guaranteed success.
i am reminded of a scene in Caprica where the AI consciousness of a dead girl is talking to a virtualized human. he tells her that this virtual world is all he has, and she says it is because he does not apply the same effort to 'reality' as he does to this virtual world.
think about nietzsche's perspective on christianity. to lose your life in order to save it, to sacrifice now for the promise of future eternal happiness, isn't THAT gaining the whole world to lose your soul?
all hail sheogorath.
sometime in the future: my amor fati
(thankfully i am not the only one feeling this: editorial by charlie brooker)
ze pulls out a smart phone. and twitters, texts, plays a game, watches a video.
i wonder why my bed and company feels like a parking spot for zes body.
i am out with friends, eating food. they are all on their phones, twittering,
"I am out eating food with friends." that is all they are doing.
we're living in a time of all-consuming technology. when did digital interaction become more desirable than face-to-face? rather than look to ourselves, our surroundings, and our thoughts to inspire and entertain, we seek the greener grass of the internetal hive-mind.
the problem is not the technology. the technology has a lot of amazing potential. the problem is that in our obsession, we have devalued everything else. and it has a price.
look at the GPS, a case of handing a fish to a hungry man. how many stories are there of people driving off cliffs, into rivers and buildings, etc because the GPS told them to? people are unlearning how to navigate, to the point that they believe they can't find their way without a GPS.
alleviate boredom by going online, as opposed to making your own fun. how many people waste many unsatisfying hours online because they are "bored"?
"see the people you want to see," closing and incestualizing the circle of your interaction, ignoring those around you that disturb your worldview, e.g. homeless.
you can escape the world around you. i was once addicted to an MMORPG. i was escaping my world of depression, failure, and confusion for a simple world with attainable goals, uncomplicated solutions, and guaranteed success.
i am reminded of a scene in Caprica where the AI consciousness of a dead girl is talking to a virtualized human. he tells her that this virtual world is all he has, and she says it is because he does not apply the same effort to 'reality' as he does to this virtual world.
think about nietzsche's perspective on christianity. to lose your life in order to save it, to sacrifice now for the promise of future eternal happiness, isn't THAT gaining the whole world to lose your soul?
all hail sheogorath.
sometime in the future: my amor fati
(thankfully i am not the only one feeling this: editorial by charlie brooker)