Where is this world heading? - thoughts on tech, morality, and the modern Western man
in Psychology ·
I’ve been chewing on this topic for a while, so apologies if I should have brought this up sooner. Mods, feel free to move this over to the psychology sub-forum if you think it fits better there.
I remember a time when I was barely aware of what was happening in the world around me. I remember hanging out, a different pace of life, and people just feeling more present. Back then, "recession" was just a term for economics majors, "tablet" meant a piece of chocolate, and terms like "sharing" or "liking" didn't exist. For me, the shift started around 2010—though maybe the seeds were planted back in 2008.
As much as I used to cheer for technological progress and welcomed Facebook and all that other digital noise with open arms, I find myself hating the whole mess now.
Privacy is essentially a relic of the past; we all know it. The constant grip on smartphones, tablets, and various gadgets is spiraling out of control to the point where people are completely tethered to their devices and social media.
Looking at the people around me, I suspect chiropractors and massage therapists are thriving because everyone walks around with their heads permanently tilted down toward a screen. I pass the local grocery store and the clerk is glued to a phone; I go to the dealership for car service and the receptionist is scrolling through Facebook; I see a friend from across the street, but she's too busy checking in on her phone to notice me. I didn't even wave. Even at a coffee shop, you'll see a couple 😁 just staring at their own respective Facebook feeds.🙂
It hit me then that my vision of the future—back in 2005—has shifted from something bright to something quite grim.
Social culture is shifting. It feels like a certain part of the West is bleeding into our way of life, and frankly, it isn't looking good. It feels less like progress and more like a scene straight out of *Idiocracy*.
Friends and acquaintances mostly stay inside at night; nobody goes out anymore. Everyone is hunkered down in their little digital boxes. I’ll take a walk through the neighborhood and the streets are empty. No one is out there. It’s eerie. Where did everybody go?
I remember laughing at Rydler (Jim Carrey) in *Batman* because of his obsession with those little boxes when I was a kid.😁
What is the future actually going to look like?🤷
I used to be skeptical when people predicted depression would become one of the top health crises by 2020, but that skepticism has evaporated. It seems like psychiatrists and psychologists have been drowning in work for years now.
I’ve thrown a lot of thoughts into this thread. I could write an entire book on this, but this is just the core of what's on my mind right now. It might seem a bit disjointed, but that's the gist of it.
What’s your take? Have we become addicts to technology? Have we traded genuine human connection for digital convenience? And what kind of fallout are we looking at?
I remember a time when I was barely aware of what was happening in the world around me. I remember hanging out, a different pace of life, and people just feeling more present. Back then, "recession" was just a term for economics majors, "tablet" meant a piece of chocolate, and terms like "sharing" or "liking" didn't exist. For me, the shift started around 2010—though maybe the seeds were planted back in 2008.
As much as I used to cheer for technological progress and welcomed Facebook and all that other digital noise with open arms, I find myself hating the whole mess now.
Privacy is essentially a relic of the past; we all know it. The constant grip on smartphones, tablets, and various gadgets is spiraling out of control to the point where people are completely tethered to their devices and social media.
Looking at the people around me, I suspect chiropractors and massage therapists are thriving because everyone walks around with their heads permanently tilted down toward a screen. I pass the local grocery store and the clerk is glued to a phone; I go to the dealership for car service and the receptionist is scrolling through Facebook; I see a friend from across the street, but she's too busy checking in on her phone to notice me. I didn't even wave. Even at a coffee shop, you'll see a couple 😁 just staring at their own respective Facebook feeds.🙂
It hit me then that my vision of the future—back in 2005—has shifted from something bright to something quite grim.
Social culture is shifting. It feels like a certain part of the West is bleeding into our way of life, and frankly, it isn't looking good. It feels less like progress and more like a scene straight out of *Idiocracy*.
Friends and acquaintances mostly stay inside at night; nobody goes out anymore. Everyone is hunkered down in their little digital boxes. I’ll take a walk through the neighborhood and the streets are empty. No one is out there. It’s eerie. Where did everybody go?
I remember laughing at Rydler (Jim Carrey) in *Batman* because of his obsession with those little boxes when I was a kid.😁
What is the future actually going to look like?🤷
I used to be skeptical when people predicted depression would become one of the top health crises by 2020, but that skepticism has evaporated. It seems like psychiatrists and psychologists have been drowning in work for years now.
I’ve thrown a lot of thoughts into this thread. I could write an entire book on this, but this is just the core of what's on my mind right now. It might seem a bit disjointed, but that's the gist of it.
What’s your take? Have we become addicts to technology? Have we traded genuine human connection for digital convenience? And what kind of fallout are we looking at?
