Screened Existence

Condemning humanity via blog posts shouldn't be a God-like exercise in which the writer expresses his/her perfect point of view and overall clarity on a subject. Opinions, nothing more and nothing less, should be regarded as just that. The existence of a perfect being is a fairy tale, and the internet is the last place you should be looking for this hypothetical immortal.

This is why I come to you humbled by the realization that my life, and quite possibly yours, revolves around technologies created by people other than ourselves. I wake up and check my phone while my wife gets ready for work with the TV on. These are the first two screens I encounter on a daily basis. After walking my dog I make my way to my computer monitor and engage in many forms of non-physical activities. I check my phone probably too often and sporadically watch TV. My window to the world consists of a series of screens that respond to commands as opposed to that uncontrollable thing we call nature.

Confronting the somewhat diverse life form humans are can be uncomfortable and anxiety producing. This is why taking a train with your face buried in a screen you have control over is a comforting option so many of us take advantage of. Your friends, family, and interests are behind that screen waiting to save you from all the weirdos you don't know and can't understand. Life in 2013 is Dante's Inferno with escape portals scattered all over the place.

All these screens and escapist tendencies create a difficult environment to observe and analyze in. Where are the offspring of philosophers in the age of information? They're probably lost in a parallel reality that is currently undergoing the age of questioning, a place that lacks Google. With complete control over what you see there is an ever decreasing space in all our lives for observing and experiencing things we don't necessarily want to. This ability may deprive us of compassion, for example, as what you don't see doesn't hurt you or anyone else for that matter.

Only an attack on the other senses brings us back down from the iCloud in the sky. A nudge by a stranger, the smell of a homeless beggar, the ruckus of hormonally imbalanced adolescents, a bitter sip of coffee, etc. Here we are, upset because we can't control these things around and in us, so we crawl back to dominance by focusing on screens.

-Alex Moran