#69 Everything Is Amazing and Nobody Is Happy

Concentration is key.

Wordle 267 3/6

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Growing up during the 2000s in India, I—and most of us in our generation—had an inconsistent relationship with technology.

In the early 2000s, we were at least 10-15 years behind the west. Cable TV was starting to be a thing, people were just getting their hands on mobile phones, and internet was practically non-existent.

When I did get internet, we had a payment plan where we had it free from 2 AM to 8 AM everyday. So, I had to wake up at 2 AM to torrent games and movies.

I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a computer at a young age in the late 2000s but using it was not something you could take for granted. I could only use the computer on weekends for an hour a day. In contrast, I spend almost all my waking hours staring at a screen.

But things weren’t so obvious back in the day. Nobody really knew how computers were going to change the world and that it was the future. My parents generation did not see computers as something that could go beyond a toy that their kids play games on.

I did not have a cell phone till I was in my final year of high school. I had my father’s old Nokia 6020 which could basically do nothing compared to what kids have these days. I got my first smartphone in my first year of college.

Fast forward to 2022.

We do everything on screens and everyone owns a smartphone—from 10 year old kids to people in their 80s.

People are reliant on technology to a fearful extent. I forcefully cut down my reliance on my smartphone back in 2020. It was only then I realized how dependant I was on technology.

This takes a lot more toll on kids growing up surrounded by screens. All of their significant experiences in life are through smartphones. From school to meeting and communicating with friends to having fun and playing games, everything revolves around these smart devices.

When I look back, I can picture a time before we had all this technology. But that doesn’t seem to be true for my younger generation.

I don’t know enough about human psychology to say that this is bad. But surely, things are getting more difficult for each new generation.

With rapid globalization, technological advancements are in sync in most developed and developing worlds. And the culture gap is rapidly shrinking.

People on the opposite end of the world could probably relate to similar memes.

Comedians are great observers of the world. Louis C K talks about how everything is great and nobody is happy in this funny interview. While you are there, you should also check out this other interview.

I read these great essays today:

• How to think for yourself
• It's now your fault they don't know about it
• The bust ticket theory of genius

I went out in the evening to get some fresh air. I like being reminded how beautiful this place is.