One of my favorite scenes in film comes from SNEAKERS, where a force of evil has designed a mathematical key to unlock any and all secrets. Let's, for giggles, substitute "too much information" for "too many secrets." Social media giants use math-based algorithms to put an endless stream of information in front of us, numbing us into seeing what they want us to see. Their key is scrolling: "Here, look at this, now this, now this..." It's every bit as addictive as drugs or alcohol, and it rewards us with chemical hits.
In the film, someone shouts "Turn it off!" when the full power of the key is revealed. The only way to break the spell of the algorithms is to back away from the keyboard. It's not easy, but as you say, Dennis, "we have to make a choice." On the other side of that choice is the potential for connection.
Jeff, you’re spot on—that Sneakers play is the perfect lens for this. We’re essentially drowning in a digital flood designed to short-circuit our focus, but trading the scroll for actual presence is where we reclaim our humanity. It’s a heavy lift to kill the feed, but it’s the only way to swap those cheap hits for something that actually carries weight. Thanks for weighing in here, my friend.
“Social media giants use math-based algorithms to put an endless stream of information in front of us, numbing us into seeing what they want us to see. Their key is scrolling: "Here, look at this, now this, now this..." It's every bit as addictive as drugs or alcohol, and it rewards us with chemical hits.”
They have figured out how to literally change our brain chemistry. When you stop to think about that, it’s scary.
Before I went to answer your question, Dennis, with a Yes or No, I had to ask myself: "What is the Digital Age? When did it begin? How did it begin?"
I was surprised to learn that the Digital Age has its roots in the 1940s & 1950s, early computers, transistors, personal computers, microchips, the InterWeb, moving from mechanical & analog (think typewriters, Rolodex, paper files) ..... to digital, universally accessible information => fundamental changes to how we humans communicate.
I'm back to teaching a story course, in person, face-to-face with people. There is a palpable ache & tenderness in the desire to be seen & heard. Much of storytelling skills turns on listening. In one exercise a person is listened to - uninterrupted - for 2 whole minutes. 2 minutes & they feel as if they have been graced space & refuge both.
I am not here to argue the pros & cons of The Digital Age. But what does come to mind - strangely enough - is President Dwight Eisenhower's warning - in 1961- against the establishment of a "military-industrial complex."
The best stories leave us with questions, more so than pat answers.
I want to know: What have we wrought? What price have we paid? How can we properly make use of the obstacles we have thrown down in our path?
Exactly, Diane. We’ve traded the tactile weight of the analog world for a seamlessness that often leaves our humanity feeling a bit thin. That "palpable ache" you’re seeing in your students is the tax we pay for constant connectivity; we are everywhere at once but rarely truly present. It’s a bit like Eisenhower’s warning—we built a massive, efficient infrastructure only to realize it might be shaping us more than we’re shaping it.
You struck a nerve with the comment about interpreting a "like" - or actually a "frown." Thinking about that without social media....first, the topic that elicited the "reaction" would probably never have been made. That means the interpretation would not have been necessary. The age of information has, perhaps, opened the eyes of many of us who would never have conceived of learning more about the world around us. Are we better that we now may see, or were we better when we didn't? I don't have an answer, but it is a question that sticks in my mind. The more I realize how much I used to believe may have been a facade, the more that question grows.
Carol, it’s sobering to think that without these digital shortcuts, most of the friction we feel wouldn't even exist. We’ve traded the comfort of a small, curated world for a raw, unfiltered view of everything, and there’s no closing that door now. I find myself stuck there too—wondering if this relentless clarity is a gift or just a heavy burden we weren't built to carry. Once you spot the cracks in the facade, the quiet ignorance we used to have starts looking less like a void and more like a luxury.
I hear what you are saying, but honestly, I wouldn't go back. Perhaps it is my hunger to learn and make sense of what I learn, but now I feel alive. Then, I existed.
One of my favorite scenes in film comes from SNEAKERS, where a force of evil has designed a mathematical key to unlock any and all secrets. Let's, for giggles, substitute "too much information" for "too many secrets." Social media giants use math-based algorithms to put an endless stream of information in front of us, numbing us into seeing what they want us to see. Their key is scrolling: "Here, look at this, now this, now this..." It's every bit as addictive as drugs or alcohol, and it rewards us with chemical hits.
In the film, someone shouts "Turn it off!" when the full power of the key is revealed. The only way to break the spell of the algorithms is to back away from the keyboard. It's not easy, but as you say, Dennis, "we have to make a choice." On the other side of that choice is the potential for connection.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUt7D4PnjxU
Jeff, you’re spot on—that Sneakers play is the perfect lens for this. We’re essentially drowning in a digital flood designed to short-circuit our focus, but trading the scroll for actual presence is where we reclaim our humanity. It’s a heavy lift to kill the feed, but it’s the only way to swap those cheap hits for something that actually carries weight. Thanks for weighing in here, my friend.
“Social media giants use math-based algorithms to put an endless stream of information in front of us, numbing us into seeing what they want us to see. Their key is scrolling: "Here, look at this, now this, now this..." It's every bit as addictive as drugs or alcohol, and it rewards us with chemical hits.”
They have figured out how to literally change our brain chemistry. When you stop to think about that, it’s scary.
Very. "The only way to break the spell of the algorithms is to back away from the keyboard."
Truth
Before I went to answer your question, Dennis, with a Yes or No, I had to ask myself: "What is the Digital Age? When did it begin? How did it begin?"
I was surprised to learn that the Digital Age has its roots in the 1940s & 1950s, early computers, transistors, personal computers, microchips, the InterWeb, moving from mechanical & analog (think typewriters, Rolodex, paper files) ..... to digital, universally accessible information => fundamental changes to how we humans communicate.
I'm back to teaching a story course, in person, face-to-face with people. There is a palpable ache & tenderness in the desire to be seen & heard. Much of storytelling skills turns on listening. In one exercise a person is listened to - uninterrupted - for 2 whole minutes. 2 minutes & they feel as if they have been graced space & refuge both.
I am not here to argue the pros & cons of The Digital Age. But what does come to mind - strangely enough - is President Dwight Eisenhower's warning - in 1961- against the establishment of a "military-industrial complex."
The best stories leave us with questions, more so than pat answers.
I want to know: What have we wrought? What price have we paid? How can we properly make use of the obstacles we have thrown down in our path?
Exactly, Diane. We’ve traded the tactile weight of the analog world for a seamlessness that often leaves our humanity feeling a bit thin. That "palpable ache" you’re seeing in your students is the tax we pay for constant connectivity; we are everywhere at once but rarely truly present. It’s a bit like Eisenhower’s warning—we built a massive, efficient infrastructure only to realize it might be shaping us more than we’re shaping it.
In more ways than one the Digital Age has taken control. Now what?
Makes for a good story......
You struck a nerve with the comment about interpreting a "like" - or actually a "frown." Thinking about that without social media....first, the topic that elicited the "reaction" would probably never have been made. That means the interpretation would not have been necessary. The age of information has, perhaps, opened the eyes of many of us who would never have conceived of learning more about the world around us. Are we better that we now may see, or were we better when we didn't? I don't have an answer, but it is a question that sticks in my mind. The more I realize how much I used to believe may have been a facade, the more that question grows.
Carol, it’s sobering to think that without these digital shortcuts, most of the friction we feel wouldn't even exist. We’ve traded the comfort of a small, curated world for a raw, unfiltered view of everything, and there’s no closing that door now. I find myself stuck there too—wondering if this relentless clarity is a gift or just a heavy burden we weren't built to carry. Once you spot the cracks in the facade, the quiet ignorance we used to have starts looking less like a void and more like a luxury.
I hear what you are saying, but honestly, I wouldn't go back. Perhaps it is my hunger to learn and make sense of what I learn, but now I feel alive. Then, I existed.