The Dilemma Warning. (You are just LAB RAT)
8 things you need to do if “The Social Dilemma” Scared The SH*T out of you
It is pretty obvious that you’ve already seen the “The Social Dilemma” documentary, trending over a month ago. Well, here’s a question for you: was that just a trend or were you actually supposed to do something, to take some actual real actions on changing your habits? Before getting into 8 things you need to do if “The Social Dilemma” Scared The SH*T out of you, Let’s begin with a brief, a really crisp brief of the documentary: the social platforms — all the apps you use; they are gravitating you towards them, towards using them all the time. You sleep or not, you stay healthy or not, whether you’re alive or dead, it honestly doesn’t matter to them.
Now, let’s explore a few factors on how these apps, these social platforms work, but starting with their core vision and mission: get more users, make them use the apps and platforms more and frequently.
Since now that’s out of the bucket let us consider how do they achieve this: the UI (User Interface), the UX (User Experience), a simplistic design, and easy to use. Since you find it all good and easy to use, they earn more and more. If and when you find a product easy to use, you are very much likely to recommend it to your families and friends. For example a vacuum cleaner: if you sell saying plug the machine, switch it on and broom the cleaner wherever you want. That’s simple and easy. Now, consider a broom: it’s simple but not easy. You have to actually move around, move and bend your body, collect all the dust in one place and then shove it down a dustbin. Both have the same purpose, both are simple but one is easy and others require efforts. Concluding this point: the lazier you are, the more the profits can be made off of you. Since you like an easy to use, you become cattle in the data farms.
Let’s travel back to the beginning era of machines, these gigantic machines. They were designed and built for the scientists, the researchers. They were never meant to be used by ordinary people. With all due respect and honor, you are no scientist or researcher, or an innovator. You are just a lab rat and a sample object in the IT industrial world. You don’t matter, your health doesn’t matter, your death doesn’t matter. Heck, they’ll earn from your death too. From your pain, from your hurting, from your insecurities.
Spiraling down to the root, this is a business. A business works this way. A business has no ethics. It only knows how to make money, no matter the way. If you like to call it, you may call it terrorism as well, maybe religion too. There’s a goal, and anybody coming in the way will be eliminated.
This is a small picture of what’s already happening and what you already know. How do you stop it? Can you stop it? Well, you can stop it but the question is are you strong enough to stop it, or are you just a whining kid who runs to their mommy at every small wound? Here are the things you can do if you claim you are strong enough:
- Turn off your internet. Like off. Disconnect your Wi-Fi plug from the socket for an entire day.
- If you have kids or younger siblings (below the age of 17) don’t give them phone for more than 30 minutes per day. Never. No matter what. They have online sessions: get a tablet or a laptop. It’s controlled.
- Play board games or card games on actual boards or with actual cards.
- Play video games if you wish: on your PS, Xbox, or your laptop; even on your phone. Make sure they are offline.
- Call a friend or family on a voice call. Have a conference call.
- Connect to a human than a machine.
- Read a book.
- Write something for yourself: a poem, a paragraph, an essay, or a letter. Write down your naked thoughts in a book.
If you still require more proof of this: watch the CitizenFour documentary (and Snowden movie). That documentary is older than the majority of relationships that last today. The last thing before I sign off, sincerely and dearly with all due respect, these smartphones are not for ordinary lay(wo)man, people with no vision, and definitely not for teens. And honestly, get a life offline.
Yes, if you love being a lab rat for these experimentalists, continue using these platforms. You’re just a weakling if you’re still your phone after so many signs and warnings from the creator themselves. Get a Life!
By Hetang Modi
Logic + Puntastic + High
