Okay, obviously not everyone is stupid.

But holy shit, sometimes it feels like we've collectively forgotten how to be people.

Everywhere I go, everyone is on their phone. Sitting next to somebody they could literally just talk to? Their on their phone instead.

And I'm not gonna pretend I'm some enlightened being who never looks at a screen. I make games. I code. I have a website. Half my hobbies require staring directly into a glowing rectangle.

But there's a difference between using technology and seemingly being unable to exist for thirty seconds without it.

And I feel like it's doing something to people.

Does Anyone Actually Talk Anymore?

Trying to talk to people feels fucking weird now.

A lot of conversations barely even become conversations. Someone says something, somebody else gives a two-word response, then it's immediately back to whatever's happening on their screen.

And when people do interact, half the time it feels like nobody knows how to talk to someone they don't already know.

Someone has a weird hobby?

Make fun of them.

Someone dresses differently?

Make fun of them.

Someone has a colorful bike? (cough cough me)

Apparently that's grounds for a fucking investigation.

God forbid someone makes games or programs things because that's apparently much stranger than spending six hours watching 15-second videos.

I don't even think everyone doing this is necessarily trying to be horrible. Sometimes it genuinely seems like people just don't know what else to say.

And that's kinda sad.

Nobody Seems To Care

This one's harder to explain.

Something genuinely important happens, and somehow people treat it exactly like every other piece of information they see.

Something horrible happens?

“Oh damn.”

Scroll.

Someone accomplishes something incredible?

“Cool.”

Scroll.

Some enormous event happens somewhere in the world?

Scroll.

Someone posts a picture of a sandwich?

Scroll.

Everything gets flattened into the same endless stream of CONTENT.

But sometimes it feels like we've gone too far in the opposite direction.

We're so used to constantly receiving information that nothing gets enough time to actually mean anything.

Social Media Kinda Sucks

Surprise!

The person who made an entire website partly because he doesn't like social media has complaints about social media.

I don't think phones themselves are evil. I don't think TikTok personally crawls out of your screen at night and steals your social skills.

I just think the way we use all of this stuff has gotten fucking weird.

Everything wants your attention.

Notifications.

Videos.

Posts.

Drama.

Messages.

Recommendations.

Another video.

Another post.

Another argument.

Another thing you're supposed to care about for approximately twelve seconds before the next thing replaces it.

And then we wonder why sitting somewhere and doing absolutely nothing feels impossible.

Maybe Everyone Isn't Stupid

Unfortunately, I have discovered that calling several billion people stupid may be a slight generalization.

I think people are just distracted.

Constantly.

And maybe a little disconnected.

It's weird that we have more ways to communicate with each other than basically any humans in history, yet actually walking up to somebody and having a normal conversation can feel harder than ever.

I don't know what the solution is.

I'm definitely not throwing my computer into the ocean.

I have games to make.

But maybe every once in a while we could put the phones down, look around, and actually acknowledge the other human beings standing five feet away from us.

Or don't.

Whatever.

I'm going for a bike ride.

:P

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