Human Dignity in the Digital Age

The primary means of technology is to serve us, making our lives more convenient. Ever since the industrial revolution, however, we have become increasingly dependent on technology. Its use, no longer a choice to simplify life, has now become an addictive necessity. The more we use it, the more we need it, and the less we can function without it.

Psychological tricks are used to keep us engaged, with addiction being its primary goal. Tech companies are well aware of this business model, and they employ people with relevant expertise to ensure that their products are as addictive as possible. This has led to a society where we are constantly bombarded with distractions, making it difficult to find silence and solitude.

Addictive Technology

Apps, websites, and games must be addictive. If they are not, they will not be used. The goal is to keep users engaged for as long as possible.

This is the reason why so-called "tech" companies employ psychologists and behavioral scientists with experience from casinos and gambling industries. Many of the most popular tech businesses even hire a larger proportion of psychologists than software engineers.

It is important to understand that the programmers are not the ones responsible for these addictive features. They are simply following the orders of their employers, who are driven by profit and shareholder value. Programmers simply get paid to implement the results shown by A/B testing, which is a method of comparing two versions of a webpage or app against each other to determine which one performs better in terms of user engagement and retention.

Everything digital is purposefully designed to be addictive. It is a business model that has been proven to work, while completely ignoring the well-being and mental health of users. However, its unsustainable nature means that the model will soon fall apart, as the negative consequences of addiction become too great for society to function properly.

Work-Life Balance

We speak of work-life balance as a goal, but it is a contradiction. Putting work and life on opposite sides of a scale implies that they are mutually exclusive. In reality, they are not. Work is a part of life, and life is a part of work. The idea that those are separate is modern fiction.

Some people find great fulfillment in their work, and that is perfectly fine. The problem is not that work is bad, but that we have created a culture that forces us to choose between work and life, leading to dissatisfaction and burnout.

Even in Scandinavia, where work-life balance is prioritized, young people are scared to start families due to economic, social, and political uncertainties. The fear of not being able to provide for a family, or the fear of losing one's job, is so ingrained that it overshadows the natural desire to have children. Valuing productivity and economic growth over personal fulfillment is a destructive mindset that cannot, and will not, function in the long run, as birth rates remain below replacement levels.

As in Huxley's Brave New World, we are conditioned to accept our roles as producers and consumers. But worry not, for the system has a solution: more technology, more entertainment, more distractions to keep us from realizing the emptiness of our work-centric lives.

The Dangers of Comfort

Comfort is the modern god. In contrast to classical and medieval societies, where hardship was a crucial part of a life worth living, we chase comfort like a drug. The more we have, the more we want, and the less we are willing to sacrifice for it.

In modern terms, every stock price must be volatile in order to eventually grow. The same applies to our lives. Without challenges, struggles, and obstacles, we cannot grow. Temporary comfort in the form of scrolling, binge-watching, or mindless gaming is a banal form of escapism that does not lead to personal growth or fulfillment. It is a trap that keeps us from facing the real challenges of life.

A counter-argument that is brought up is that people have always sought comfort, and that we used to have it in the form of reading books and playing cards. But understand that the comfort of the past was not the same as the comfort of today. Reading a book requires active engagement of the mind and imagining every scene and character. Playing cards requires social interaction with friends or strangers, as well as strategic thinking.

In contrast, modern comfort is passive. It is a zombie-like state where we are entertained without any effort or engagement. Companies have reverse-engineered human attention in a way that no longer requires us giving any effort to be entertained. We are simply fed content that needs no thought or engagement, leading to a state of mental stagnation.

Silence, struggle, and solitude are scary concepts in the modern world. We have been conditioned to avoid them at all costs, as they are seen as uncomfortable and unproductive. But it is precisely in these moments of discomfort that we can find clarity, purpose, and personal growth. Dodging these leads straight to depression, anxiety, and a sense of emptiness.

Accepting Silence

One cannot achieve personal growth without silence. Silence is the shared trait of all great thinkers, as it is the only way to hear your own thoughts. Without silence, how are you meant to know what you think? How are you meant to know who you are? Silence is when you can finally hear your own voice, and that is where true growth begins.