ENTRY SEVENTY (CONTINUED FROM: ENTRY FIFTY-SIX)
One gentleman said this in an interview regarding Y2K and technology, "It's like the millennium itself is bringing about this change. It's like an energy or a magnet!" Ok, so, possible and exciting in my view! Makes me wanna sit down at a coffee shop with a history buff, spending the afternoon just asking questions. Every century, every millennium could have its own life, feel, and energy for sure! Very thought-provoking.
The next part though, here's where it can get interesting.
He then compared it all to a black hole. Same mentality and joy as when discussing the millennium itself bringing change, but it shifted my perspective quite a bit. A black hole... Subconsciously, he may have nailed it. Let's look at some definitions.
1.) A gravitational field so intense that no matter or radiation can escape.
2.) Such immense gravity that nothing escapes from it, not even light.
3.) A place where people, things, and money disappear without a trace.
4.) A void in the human psyche.
The first two definitions are some technical ones, although we can make them psychological and philosophical by emphasizing on nothing escaping from it or not letting light escape from it.
But the good news here is that you're not dealing with an actual black hole, so there is escape as soon as you're ready, as soon as you will it. Not gonna lie though, the third one made me giggle a little because yes, internet shopping will most definitely make my money disappear, but people? I don't see humor in that one at all.
Perhaps it's easy to just disappear and stay online when real life is so heartbreakingly disappointing for whatever the reason is, unlucky in love or the astronomical cost of living for example. We're all going through it for whatever the reason.
A void in the human psyche sounds just as accurate and technical as calling it gravity. Our minds can get that way sometimes huh? I know mine does. Perhaps an attempt to fill that void for some people is going online, maybe even in the same way that people often run to drugs, alcohol, sex, or food to avoid facing something unpleasant.
How do we avoid this black hole effect? The ways in which we go about it will change for every individual but if I had to give a universal answer, I would say to modify usage and be heavily proactive in your mental health.
Maybe mental health struggles are what led us to overuse in the first place. It's vital to always assess our emotional state before we log on, especially since use and overuse of the internet has been linked to depression and anxiety. Technostress as it's been called.
If it alone can cause such mental and emotional challenges, imagine the damage it can do if you're already depressed or anxious prior to logging on. Maybe they knew this which is why notifications were designed to hit those reward receptors in the brain. Makes us think we feel better logging on but we're actually denying ourselves a real solution. "There's a time and place for everything," vital to know when we need to log on versus when we want to log on.
"Our systems are broken, and they're going to fall asunder when you start entering into them. There is no debate about that anymore."
This was said in the 90's but yes, I still agree in 2024. I immediately begin to think about people who are wanting attention for one reason or another. Maybe they wanna convince the world their lives are perfect, maybe they're chronically lonely. It is a broken system that has us turning away from each other and working harder at posting for strangers instead of strengthening the relationships we have with ourselves and others.
Side Note: There is a bit of a stigma associated with attention-seeking behaviors but one can have more sympathy and tolerance when aware that it comes from neglect.
Check this out real quick. These quotes came from some interviews conducted right after the new year in 2000:
Reporter: "The man who warned us about Y2K says it's a lesson about how much we depend on technology, and how it's not as infallible as we'd like to think."
De Jager: "I don't believe that we, as a human race, learn from our mistakes. We don't learn from history. Every 100 years, we'll have exactly the same type of situation. And it'll be someone else raising the alarm."
So, we won't know until the year 2100 if his "every hundred years" prediction is correct. However, we can know right here and now that we CAN learn from our mistakes and we CAN learn from history if we choose to. There are plenty of things that have happened over the course of time that doesn't happen anymore. So, we can learn. The better response is: "we can but will we?"
We'll see if the year 2100 has it's own doomsday vibe but until then, we have the opportunity to see what needs to be fixed now so it doesn't get worse later on.
"And that is the greatest lesson from Y2K. That no one can go through any of the current dilemmas facing us alone."
It's so easy to feel like a burden. It's so easy to feel even worse looking at other people's posts of a perfect life while stressing over our own. Easy and understandable. We're human. But we need to make a habit of logging on less and connecting with other people more.
Kid during a 90's interview: "This hasn't been a very good century. Fix the world, don't screw it up!"
We get so wrapped up in our own comfort and survival that we lose sight of the generations coming up behind us. Our kids depend on us to teach them how to regulate themselves, their emotions, and their lives. Teach them how to live as well as teaching how and when to log on. We are in a digital age, technology is everywhere, but that doesn't mean our humanity is obsolete. We still have a job to do.
