Why the meaning of life can’t be Googled
If you’re having one of those days (or weeks) of drudgery — maybe you’re immersed in paperwork or taxes — and you’re considering the Purpose of it All, I wouldn’t suggest digging around on the internet.
A cursory Google search for “the meaning of life” will surface a range of quick, pithy advice. Most of that advice is freely available in all the predictable packages: TED Talks, clickbaity listicles, and hackneyed stock photos with contemplative quotes.
But I want to be positive. We’re talking about the purpose of life, after all, and that is a topic worthy of deep inquiry and investigation.
The search for meaning is something we should all explore. A sense of purpose gives us a reason to live, while a focus on transitory, immediate pleasures and successes will only lead to emptiness.
Unfortunately, meaning isn’t easily searchable. It can’t be found in a Buzzfeed listicle. There’s a lot of noise around the meaning of life that has nothing to do with finding your own, unique sense of purpose.
But that hasn’t stopped people from trying to hack into a generalized notion of purpose, especially in the tech world, where meaning and purpose have become buzzwords akin to disrupt and synergy.
