We don’t value our own thoughts anymore. That just hit me like a ton of bricks honestly. And I think it might be a huge underlying problem to a lot of these obvious failings & derailings of 21st century life. I’m always pointing the finger at social media… often the middle one. But social media’s not the catalyst of the problem here. They’re just the vessel for it.
I think the real root of the problem…
Is that humanity experienced a monumental shift in mentality when we started putting smart phones & apps in our pockets. We didn’t intend for it to happen. But it did… it changed everything. Our circle of influence & inspiration went from regional to global. From friends & family who had our best interests at heart, to influencers who had their own best interests at heart. And we were not psychologically ready for the communication & information landslide that hit us.
As a result, we’ve lost the ability to hear our own thoughts! We’ve become too led on a leash. We don’t spend enough time looking within. Instead now – our instinctual response is to look online. We ask the internet for advice & direction on virtually everything we do.
Buying a new car? First, make sure to ask everyone online what kind of car you should get.
Thinking about going to an event? Definitely ask the internet who’s going… and make sure to tell them that you’re either going, not going, or just ‘interested’.
Don’t know where to eat lunch? Ahh the internet will tell you what some other dicks thought about the place.
Politics, police shooting, pandemic, war overseas?? Piece of cake – just go online to figure out what side to take & who to hate.
Those are just examples…
But they’re exemplary of a much deeper issue & transition going on. It shows how our basic decision-making processes have been fundamentally altered in just a handful of years. We’ve forfeited the value of our own thoughts. And with that, we’ve lost our own road to genuine happiness & fulfillment. Be honest with yourself: How much of your life’s activities are just part of an online brag? How much of your daily energy centers around materialism & comparison? ….Which leads to envy, depression, and aggression.
Continuing to go down this road will kill your natural passions.
And it will ultimately steal your soul. I’m not judging you; I’m saying… bro, it’s time we wake up.
We need to realize that this digital need for approval we’ve got… it’s a full-on addiction. And just because everyone’s addicted… doesn’t make it any less of one. That voice inside of us?? It is our soul! That’s where the fire is. So we need to listen to it first & foremost.
We need quality time with our own thoughts… to recalibrate. But we don’t often give that to ourselves. Instead we reach in our pocket… and we grab the phone. We go down the rabbit hole. But before you pull out that phone & scroll the feed, pay close attention: Is this feeding you, or feeding ON you?
Text from Issue 58 of S3 Magazine // Written by Wooley
