the techno-social environment
... See moreWe have never been able to document our lives so thoroughly as we now can with the help of digital tools, yet we feel that time is out of joint and that we've lost the thread of both our personal and collective histories. We appear to be both obsessive documenters of our experience, yet largely indifferent to or overwhelmed by the archives we
As I used to observe with some frequency, the arc of digital culture bends toward exhaustion.
What I mean by this is simple: when we think of the way our days are structured, the kinds of activities most readily on offer, the mode of relating to the world we are encouraged to adopt, etc.—in each case we are more likely to find ourselves spent... See more
What I mean by this is simple: when we think of the way our days are structured, the kinds of activities most readily on offer, the mode of relating to the world we are encouraged to adopt, etc.—in each case we are more likely to find ourselves spent... See more
L. M. Sacasas • What You Get Is the World
We live in a mega-scale corporate capitalist economy, and in such a setting technology is never used to save time. It’s used to speed up production and consumption in order to expand the system. The basic rule is this: technology doesn't make our lives easier. It makes them faster and more crammed with stuff.
Brett Scott • Tech Doesn’t Make Our Lives Easier. It Makes Them Faster
The New Legislators of Silicon Valley - The Ideas Letter
theideasletter.org
Today, novelty is overrated.
Does that mean novelty is always bad? No. Does that mean that novelty isn’t also at times a creative re-working of existing ideas in a new context? Also no. But today we are saturated with it, and it’s always worth examining whether the current saturation is actually serving us or whether we are simply being pushed... See more
Does that mean novelty is always bad? No. Does that mean that novelty isn’t also at times a creative re-working of existing ideas in a new context? Also no. But today we are saturated with it, and it’s always worth examining whether the current saturation is actually serving us or whether we are simply being pushed... See more
Adam Robbert • The Lost Art of Memory
... See moreAlgorithms shape the flow of information and influence the narratives that users encounter. By tailoring content based on user preferences and engagement patterns, they not only reinforce existing beliefs but nudge users in sometimes terrifying directions. This selective exposure to information can reinforce biases and shape users' perceptions in
the platform paradox. The elements of our digital personality should belong to us, but the digital account itself – our digital persona specific to this platform – is an unalienated part of the platform.
Andrey Mir • The platform paradox
Information and media abundance have made us cognitively impatient. We don't want to spend the time.