Better off having sex or masturbating.
While we talk about lots of things, I wasn't expecting those words to come out of the mouth of my client today, but it cracked me up. We were talking about how a lot of the things we focus our time and attention on aren't that important, where the media is filled with nonsense, so people look to avoid what is "going on in the world" by burying themselves in entertainment of some sort. And that is why my student said that it is probably better for our health to have sex or masturbate instead.
I agree.
But, we will get to that in a moment.
As I see it, the media and the news is entertainment, as it doesn't actually tell what is going on in the world. It does mention events of course, as well as people, but at least at the "popular" media level, it doesn't dive into the causes or potential solutions. Instead, it is designed to be consumed passively and to make us feel a part of the conversation, even though we aren't adding anything and more importantly, doing anything to improve the situation.
This ties into the current incentives of the economy, which are to maximize wealth, make more money, even though it doesn't necessarily add value to our lives or wellbeing. A wealthy country doesn't equal a healthy society. And, because of these mechanisms in play, there are incentives to maximize profits at all levels of the supply chain, and with data and information being one of the most valuable resources, these incentives to maximize the profits they generate are also there.
The news isn't created to inform us so that we can make better decisions, it is created to maximize advertising revenues through the generation of arguments and shares. This comes through polarization of topics to create strong emotional response, rather than tempered and practical discussions that move us forward as a society. The narratives are designed to drive division, not collaboration. And it generates views for advertisements.
And it is tiring.
But, those advertising dollars come from those looking to sell something, which is, to make money from the consumers in some way or another. And, because we are tired of the state of the world, we look to avoid seeing the false reality portrayed, by diving into various forms of entertainment that gives us the feedback that things are okay, even if just for a moment. We can spend hours sitting on Playstation, feeling like we can drive a race car, or play football like a star, but once the machine turns off, what has actually changed in our lives?
So, for the most part, whichever way we turn, we are being influenced to consume, but not actually do anything much of consequence. And then, like my client said, we would be better off having sex or masturbating. It is good for the health and it at least (the sex part) requires building some form of relationship - it is a team sport, and it creates some level of intimacy, even though the depth of that intimacy might vary a lot.
Much of what we do doesn't add life value to our lives, because it is centered around the profit algorithm, which looks to maximize money, which means minimizing activity. We want to "produce" more for less, which means reducing the materials too. This sounds like it might be great for the environment, but it is likely not, because we end up consuming more as individuals, than when we are producing wellbeing as a group. Spending time having sex instead of on an X-Box, requires no mining for material resources, no production factory, no transport costs, no advertising.
A digital goal, or under the sheets - How would you rather score?
This isn't about sex though, it is about how we are living our lives, performing "busy work" that keeps us part of the monetization and maximization of profit model, even though we aren't getting anything out of it that improves our lives. We might feel we are though, because we have been convinced by the same influencing forces, that we don't need other people, we don't need to produce anything ourselves, we don't need to do anything - all we need is to feel that we are doing something.
I use the example of the people who change their profile pictures to support a country during some crisis, or use a hashtag, or share some images from a warzone, as if what they are doing makes a difference. But, it is just more entertainment, more avoidance, because what actually makes a difference, happens at the local level first, the "be the change" landscape.
But, we don't act locally, because we spend our lives consuming globally,. We see the horrors that are happening in this world and it takes our attention and energy away from the thousands of small things we could be doing to improve life where we stand, where we actually live.
Charity starts at home.
If we wanted to improve our world, we would probably do better if we first improved our relationships in our homes, or made stronger relationships within our local community. This doesn't mean we have to ignore the rest of the world, just that we would be able to take the lessons we learn from the rest of the world, and apply them at a local level, making practical actions and creating real change.
Little luxury.
Currently, most of us in this world have very little luxury, even though we may be surrounded by the trappings of financial success. Our lifestyles are degrading due to the way the economy currently operates and as a result, we are ending up with less opportunity, less security, and more stress in general. This has a knock-on effect on all things, including the things that actually affect as locally.
It doesn't matter if we read all the news on what is happening in Gaza, or post about the war in Ukraine It doesn't matter if we write articles about the clusterfuck that is the economy, or worse than that, politics. It means nothing to change a profile picture, or virtue signal social superiority. If we aren't improving ourselves and our lives at the local level in meaningful ways, it is all meaningless and we are part of the problem.
I know I have many changes to make.
Luxury isn't my ability to buy things, it is the opportunity to improve our lives, increase our wellbeing at home and in our extended group, pushing out further and further. At times, this can be through purchases, but there are other factors too, possibly many that are more important and should be higher on my list. This doesn't exclude me from interacting with content globally, or discussing it with people globally too, in fact, it empowers it, because it creates a two-way conduit to pull in lessons learned from others, and push out lessons I learn along the way too.
Sex and masturbation.
There is a difference though, right?
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
