Are we too entertained?

Time demons and Lotus technology

I’m 24 and I feel I am just now learning how to live my life. When I was younger, I didn’t worry about what my purpose was. I just did what I liked. When I was 12, I’d play Skyrim 6 hours a day and it was the best time of my life. If I did that now I’d be depressed. I’m struggling with purpose quite a bit these days and what to do with my time. Especially my free time after work. That 6-hour void from when work finishes until bedtime. It’s so easy to fast forward your afternoon on Tik Tok with Netflix open in front of you. It’s so easy to plug yourself into the internet and before you know it, it’s bedtime and you feel horrible. Six hours of your life have been stolen, and you can’t get them back.

(Silicon valley selfie)

The catastrophic potential of entertainment

I have a theory. Entertainment when suitably advanced can be used to hypnotise people so they can’t pull their attention away. The more advanced the entertainment the better it can harvest life. TikTok is the latest in this insidious tech that can trap people for hours and steal their time.

TikTok is like the lotus casino in Percy Jackson and the lightning thief. For those who haven’t seen it, in the story there’s a casino where people become trapped for decades or centuries. They are given complete and free access to a casino where all their desires are met. They are given food laced with the magic lotus fruit that enhances the experience so greatly that it feels euphoric, basically they are maximally entertained.

The heroes of the story nearly forget their mission and end up spending days in there when it only felt like a few hours. They can’t remember most of what they did, and it was extremely difficult for them to pull themselves out of it.

Sound familiar? How many times have you watched TikTok for 2 hours and it felt like 2 minutes. After the two hours you can’t remember 90% of the things you watched and it’s always hard to put down.

TikTok is the latest in Lotus technology, but it is not the first. TikTok evolved from YouTube. A slightly longer form of entertainment but still designed to suck your life essence. What I’m worried about is if this trend continues, entertainment is only going to get more advanced, as the devils who make it learn what transfixes us most. Could entertainment ever become so advanced that we become slaves to it and the few that run it? Will we all become permanent residents of the lotus casino? I doubt it but I heard that brain chips like neuralink will be able to light up certain pleasure areas in your brain to make your existence feel like a permanent orgasm so we might be doomed.

How to fight the time demons

I haven’t found what to do with my time yet, but I know donating it to these tech time demons is not the answer. I have however found some ways to armour yourself against them and to trick your brain into thinking that you’re living a fulfilling life.

Stupid brain fooled again.

1. Friends and family

Spend time with friends and family. Doing an activity, not tv. If you don’t have friends, try and make some. I know that’s hard. The thing about making friends is that you can’t outwardly state you are looking for friends and ask someone ‘be my friend please’ because that seems forced and needy. Think of an activity you like perhaps chess then search ‘chess clubs in … ‘. You won’t make friends right away but if you put yourself out there and surround yourself with people with similar interests eventually, you’ll make friends. It’s what humans were designed to do. We’re designed to get along with our neighbours. It’s hard to do but find an activity you enjoy and do it with people you like, and it will be so much more fulfilling than plugging yourself into the internet. Basically, go outside and touch grass.

2. Work on yourself

Find something you enjoy doing by yourself and try to get better. Create don’t consume. Copy me and become a terrible writer. A hobby is a wonderful thing. You don’t have to be good at it (clearly), you just have to enjoy it. Hopefully one day you can make money from your hobby, and it can become a side hustle or even the main one. That shouldn’t be your goal, however. Enjoy the process.

Maybe there’s something you always wanted to learn. Instead of spending the evening on the sofa take a night class. Take a creative writing course or a mechanics course. Learn how engines work or how to wire a plug. It’ll help to make you a more interesting person as well.

3. Education

I know I mentioned night classes above but here I’m going to talk about re-skilling or up-skilling. Committing a long time and a lot of effort into a proper course. Feeling stuck in my career/life has made me feel depressed in the past. I have felt as if I’m wasting my time or going in the wrong direction often. To fix it you must take hold of the wheel and plot course in the right direction again. Like turning a big boat, it can take a lot of effort to turn, and it won’t turn quickly. However, it is possible with hard work. It is a lot easier to stay on track but when needed you can reroute.

Search for courses that can give you real marketable skills in your chosen career area. There is an upfront cost of time and money, but the rewards will be worth it. Even if you don’t end up making twice your current salary, you will end up a more educated and well-rounded person. Committing a year or two towards a masters, diploma etc. will give you a goal to strive for. What do you think will be more fulfilling, spending two hours studying in the evening or watching season 17 episode 22 of suits?

Hope

So, there you go hopefully I have highlighted some dangers of being over entertained and equipped you with some tools to fight the time demons. Like fighting a vampire, you may have the garlic and the crucifix at hand, but you must also have the strength, courage and know-how to use them. So stay strong and read a book!