The Digital World Con

You know, the powers behind cell phones, apps, AI, social media et al…everything digital tell you they make your life better and easier. I don’t believe the con much anymore. Saving time? It’s our culture, our society, our financial and organizational systems that keep us running in multiple directions at the same time. And everything has to be now they tell us!

Some things are truly urgent, like getting an ambulance to take you to the hospital. But many things are not although we’ve been constantly told otherwise. We’re always in a hurry it seems. That’s because there’s big money in urgency. The less time we have to think about something, the more likely we will make poor decisions including economic ones.

The people behind our digital world know this, so they make or create lots of junk and gadgets and tell us it will save us time and it’s easy. Sure, you will need to spend money to get it, often a lot, but it will be wonderful. Not necessarily. Digital companies always pitch their technology to other companies by saying it will save them time and money ergo staffing, and the conversion to our system is painless for you and your customers. From my experience, that’s just not true, regardless of the industry. Look how often air travel systems go down.

One other thing to consider: all of this is designed to reduce our capacity to think critically, so that the powers behind our digital world can do whatever they want while distracting us and eroding this vital ability. Making it easy for us, they say. No, making it easy for them. Let’s talk AI. The average person really has no big need for it in their day to day life. And what do we do with it? We use it to write scholastic term papers or business presentations. Sure, this is easier but, you are not having to think about it. It’s all done for you. Do you have any idea how much ChatGTP is used for these purposes. Hey, you can use AI to create things you really don’t create, a machine does. What a wonderful distraction animating old photos, but really, how many times can you keep doing it. Or make videos you don’t have to. Again, you’re really not making it either, but you think you have created something amazing, just like two billion other users. This is how the digital powers want you to think.

Finally, I am actually starting to resent and even rebelling against (oh yes…shhh) the big digital machine. I don’t know why I have to tell anyone everything about me to pay for downtown parking or tickets to a show or a myriad of other non-life threatening situations.   But, to use any app, you have to tell them, and that means everyone. I really never had a problem having change in my car for a parking meter. It’s pretty simple and easy too with no special technological requirements. And I didn’t have to pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars for me to be able to do this.

By the way, I’ve never been against technology, only against the way humans try to abusively monetize it, especially to the extreme extent seen today.

It really is a con. Don’t buy into it totally. Leave some thinking capacity in your cranium. Lose this, and you lose your freedom and are at the mercy of the tech gods, which should leave you feeling squeamish and wary. You know, that ambulance ride, which is vital, does not require you to have an app. I think that’s reassuring.