Since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007 there has been a mass de-skilling in society. This has been a top-down force, committed by our tech elites to make our minds simpler and easily manageable. Average people have given up knowledge for surveilled convenience. No longer do you need to look at a map, use a compass or know street names. Use your voice-activated assistant and ask Google for directions. The CIA-backed maps project will give you instructions each step of the way. Turn right.

You no longer need to search for classified ads or submit resumes in person. Now an algorithm thinks for you and decides your best job-match. Its simple, your humanities degree will be a great backdrop while you preform emotional labor as a sandwich artist.

You don't even need to befriend people anymore. Social media platforms have replaced messy social interactions with commodified para-social cult worship. Replace your human-first world view with one of numb nihilistic thought. The algorithm supports you in your journey.

Good or evil. Convenience or uncomfortable effort. Modern technology was birthed from neo-liberal nihilistic thought and has given it to us wrapped in sleek machined all-aluminum minimalist bodies. Individual thought is a thing of the past, everyone has connected their psyche to the machines in their hands. Allow the like counts, the upvote battles, the ratios to determine your thought pattern. Everything is either black or white. Upvote or downvote. Like or dislike. On or off. No more subtlety, color or nuance.

This is now expressed in our culture. Fashion has become monochrome, and purely utilitarian. Streaming services have flattened thousands of years of human musical expression into playlists tailored for experiences, not to be listened to. Superlative music for laid back listening. Spoiler-fear has shamed us into avoiding critical analysis of culture. The ideal way to watch is to be dumb and blind. Unburdened by thought. Mindlessness, convenience, simplicity and consumer choice must be protected.

Art is content. Content is monetized by platforms. Wealth is extracted from collective human cultural output into tech conglomerates.

Identity is defined by consumer choice. Judgement is made by the algorithm, the great 'other' online. It is quick and unkind. Truth is secondary to feelings of truth. Amber Heard was beaten by Johnny Depp. Yet most people believe she is the guilty party. Societal algorithm content-based justice.

Technology assures us that there are simple solutions to all problems in life. Everything is easy and simple. Everything is a game meant to be played in an advantageous way. There is no more color, simply shades of grey. Consumerist choice now determines your entire life, you are now only concerned about what consumptive choices to make. Guaranteed outcomes traded on behavioral futures markets.

My advice is to go outside. Post less.