Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the massive amounts of information thrown your way every second of the day?
You’re not alone.
Answer emails, browse Facebook, reply to texts, watch a YouTube clip, check Twitter, read a few articles — repeat indefinitely.
According to Google CEO Eric Schmitt, every two days we create as much information as we did from the origins of recorded history up to 2003 — over a billion gigabytes.
Let me repeat that — we now generate as much information in a mere 48 hours as we did from the dawn of humankind through 2003.
To be happy is to consent to the world as is
Today, as never before, happiness is touted as the ultimate public desire, a societal cure-all, even a human right.
It has become big business. Self-help gurus churn out happiness manuals—eat clean, do yoga, meditate in this way or that—incessant, self-stylised shortcuts, wellness guides claiming to have bottled bliss, unlocked contentment. It’s just that easy.
Happiness can now be discovered, marketed, sold, packaged, shipped, and realised all from the comfort of your couch within 2-3 business days. Amazon conquers all.
All of these idyllic gimmicks, these quick fixes, harried enlightenments, they obscure what happiness is: an impossibly unachievable, entirely…
A.T. Kingsmith
Writer and doctoral candidate in political science @yorkuniversity exploring the nexuses of critical theory, technology, and social movements.
