In our zeal to become a media, technologically dominated culture—a culture that recognizes technological progress as human progress we fail to register what it is will lose. No questions ever truly arise during the infancy of a new technology that is marketed and presented as the “next big innovation.” In our 21st century, the technologies we interact with, largely the ones in our pockets, have in respects revolutionized how humanity interacts with one another. As I mentioned in my previous essay, From Soma to Social Media, McLuhan’s “global village” is no longer a prediction but a lived reality. Yet as this village expands, certain human experiences quietly slip away, often unnoticed, until they vanish.
Before the dawn of the technology and social media revolution individuals didn’t have a device that could keep them at bay momentarily. Boredom and silence were seen as ways to stretch the thinking mind. They weren’t problems to be solved, but rather something to be lived through. It was a time where individuals could be present. A time where they could pause. This pause—this stop in time could allow people to use their minds to be creative, intentional, or just be without a preoccupation with a bombardment of mass information. This absence of technological stimulation was especially beneficial to the younger generations. Without the distraction of bright devices that algorithmically maintain the user’s attention, young children and teenagers could use one of the most vital features of thought: imagination, and live with a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world they inhabit.
Moreover, discourse before the influx of modern technology was vastly different in respect to how people communicated ideas to one another. Society at large before the boom was still living in and being shaped by a print culture which demanded sustained attention and active engagement. This pushed people to grow and develop their literacy skills and made them learn and engage with the world through something less distracting. Discourse was additionally beneficial before the age of modern technology due to the lack of online tribes and echo chambers. Without its prevalence, individuals were more likely to encounter disagreement. While uncomfortable, it fostered intellectual growth opposed to reinforcement of ideas alone.
In the beginning, we never dared to ask ourselves what we will lose and by the time we have it may have been too late. As we are conditioned from the very beginning to constantly be on the move and to constantly consume, we’ve moved into unconscious souls who do not know that through their excitement and zeal for constant entertainment, engagement, and stimulation—boredom, silence, and discourse have eroded. This has indeed perpetuated the vanishing of pause.
The never ending cycle of stimulation leads to the inevitable road of thought prevention. Because you have a populace who is taught to constantly move and avoid stillness we find ourselves with a people that rarely reflect. Reflection is where autonomy begins.
In our zeal to “want to be a part of it all” to be connected, to be stimulated to pacify the time in the grocery line with a scroll we have put instant satisfaction over stillness. Over the ability to sit with ourselves—with situations we deem as “boring.”
Constant entertainment undercuts boredom.
In my next essay I’ll discuss algorithms as emotional curators, and if our moods are managed for us, what happens to choice?
