One of my best friends is eagerly awaiting the arrival of his first child. He's currently 37 years old, and his wife is 28, if I remember correctly. They're going to have a girl, and the excitement they feel about such an overwhelming event is indescribable. I, on the other hand, have no children, have never been married, and probably never will be a father or a husband.
I'm not good at being social, and I'm even worse in long-term relationships. I have plenty of friends who have children, and I've noticed an interesting fact about all of these kids: a bright screen has insane taming powers.
We grew up with plastic or wooden toys, and the best part of our day was the hours we spent outside. But for the new generation, smartphones or tablet screens are more rewarding than what used to fulfill us.
I was thinking, though, in what world is a toddler who's constantly glued to a smartphone screen about to grow up? The answer is simple: in the world designed by those in full control of the gadgets and apps that kids are using.
TikTok is such a controversial topic. You've probably heard that America is having talks lately about banning the app due to concerns regarding Chinese spying. However, the bill aimed at fulfilling the ban is also hitting Bitcoin and crypto.
Kids don't know much about crypto and Bitcoin; they barely know anything, but they're very handy in using smartphones and some of the renowned apps that adults are obsessed with as well. TikTok started as an educative app for Chinese youth, but the algorithms used by the app outside the Chinese borders are entirely different.
While the famous app is still education-oriented in China, it's somehow designed to dumb down its users in other continents.
Social media is a reality-shaping machine. Much of fashion, lifestyle, behaviors, and human interactions are shaped by social media. And we know that social media is not free of charge. Facebook and Instagram, for example, not only make their users the products to sell for profits but also somehow shape their lives.
Would you know or care about LGBT if it wasn't for social media? I bet you wouldn't, but it's there in the palm of your hand, and you can't ignore it. Thus, many young ones choose to change their genders from boy to girl and vice versa, creating an even greater mess in this messy world.
I read yesterday that a teenager died during surgery in an attempt to "ditch his cock for a vagina made out of colon"... Wow, this is mind-boggling to me...
The reality shaped by social media, porn, video games, and everything in between is as fake as Kim Kardashian's lips. Such apps have created a highly distorted image of what wealth should look like. No one wants to be average and happy anymore, like our elders used to be.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to be a millionaire or hustling to put up big businesses, but that shouldn't be the end of your life's journey, and you shouldn't break up with your partner just because they might not be the right one for becoming a family of millionaires. What if you become millionaires but are still unhappy?
What if working a regular job, having two healthy kids, a good job, a couple of well-spent vacations a year, and a healthy body are the true wealth that such couples should seek for? And if the opportunity to make millions comes along, why waste it?
I bet the following saying makes sense for every generation that's getting older, but I'll say it anyway: "New generations are so fucked." They'll be growing up with AI stealing their jobs even before finishing college, and algorithms dictating what their happiness, ideal partner, and wealth should look like.
I know that it's easier to pacify a crying toddler by handing them a smartphone, but are you willing to take the risk of that smartphone shaping their reality and expectations?
Thanks for your attention,
Adrian
