 | Our lives are constantly controlled by outside sources. The things we see, hear, and experience are determined by the people around us, and the material things we invest our interest in. Although we ultimately do have a choice, to be our honest, individual selves is almost impossible with all of the distractions that life bombards us with from birth. --Ola'i Wildeboar |
Our lives are constantly controlled by outside sources. The things we see, hear, and experience are determined by the people around us, and the material things we invest our interest in. Although we ultimately do have a choice, to be our honest, individual selves is almost impossible with all of the distractions that life bombards us with from birth—and our options are limited by those in power. It has been a steadily growing problem in our culture, yet one that most seem completely oblivious to, as our society chooses to abandon intellectualism. From the things we enjoy, to the people we worship, to the devices we depend on, there is a multitude of ways in which our freedom has been stolen from us, and where opinions and ignorance have been ingrained without our consent.
Upon opening Yahoo, the first thing I see is a headline of Kim Kardashian’s dramatic new hair color change, and how much it’s apparently affected the world. But why, exactly, is Kim K so important? The media has reduced her to what is profitable. In her case: beauty, fashion sense, money, the right connections, knowing how to work the system. Our culture celebrates those whose worth doesn’t seem to go beyond the skin. We are taught that the people who are doing it right, the ones we should look up to, are the ones who flash bright smiles and big tits, who marry the man with the money. Where are the people who actually deserve to be celebrated?
I recently read about a 12-year-old girl with an IQ of 162. That’s higher than Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and Bill Gates—and she’s still in junior high, with plenty of time left to develop and grow Why do we not celebrate and worship a person such as this? The innovators, the geniuses, the scientists, artists, activists and change makers, though will be recognized by their community, are almost always excluded from media. We are practically taught to ignore those who are making a difference in this world.
In my freshman year, my class took a field trip to an event called “We Day” hosted by large corporations like Disney and Allstate, with the supposed goal of creating a healthier, happier, and more intelligent future for the children of America. Although I did not have high hopes for the integrity of this event, I was expecting something which would possibly inspire me, and others, to go out and make a difference. What I got was nothing close. From the moment we arrived, we were bombarded with advertisements. Each student was required to wear the official “We Day” shirt, which had nothing but a silly catchphrase on it and rows and rows of sponsors and supporters on the back. Corporations. The big guys.
Upon entering, were screens lit up with bright, colorful ads, expressing how much GOOD these companies were doing for the world. Moving into the event, we were shown performers like Big Sean, Selena Gomez, and a few other artists whose music’s emptiness completely drowned out any possibility of inspiration. As the lectures began, we heard Seth Rogen, Evanna Lynch, among others who, in my opinion, aren’t really doing anything for the world. But what irked me most, was this: they so graciously brought two young inventors in from Uganda, who had recently created a homemade ultrasound that women could use for free in their village. This was an amazing accomplishment. They came onstage with two Disney Channel stars, were asked three questions about their invention, and then were led offstage to be replaced by “Boo” the world’s cutest dog, who told bad jokes to us through a pre-recorded voice.
How sad is it that we so blatantly ignore and disrespect people who are making a difference, and then celebrate something as unimportant as a well-bred dog? We are given things such as “We Day”, which claim they are making a difference, to satisfy our need to pretend we’re actually righteous people. These events give us an excuse to say we're doing something, when really, all we’re doing is feeding the corporations more money. Thousands of kids in that arena, almost all of whom paid over fifty dollars to even attend, were fed more mindless garbage and brainwashing advertisements, while the companies swim in how gloriously we ate it up, as well as how much money they're making. But, you know, at least they’re spreading awareness.
Here’s an example which may be a little more recognizable to most of you: Urban Outfitters. This company was founded by a big time businessman named Richard Hayne, and is aimed to the likings of “hipster”/alternative young adults and teens. The most obvious problem with this company is its complete disregard of cultural feelings and politically correctness. Over the years, it has likely produced a product offending almost every race, religion, subject or idea. They have made everything from shirts resembling holocaust attire, a blood spattered university sweatshirt of a school victim to a shooting, a shirt reading “eat less”, a board game called “ghettopoly”, clothing and accessories condoning the use of drugs and alcohol for younger children, and many many products which have photos and artwork copied and produced without the owner’s, or artist’s, permission. As many times as this company gets in trouble, as many times as people complain and are hurt by the things this company produces, they still keep opening up more locations, expanding and profiting, because people just love shopping there.
Urban Outfitters is one of many ignorant and offensive companies who seem to never get the punishment they deserve because of the amount of money they’re able to make. Their mistakes are never published in mainstream news, perhaps because it wouldn’t interest anyone, or perhaps because the companies are keeping us from the truth so that their sales will not plummet. Once again, the big guys only have themselves in mind. What a surprise. Yet it is our responsibility as consumers to know what kind of companies we’re supporting. Do you want to give your money to a racist, insensitive and already overly-powerful individual? I’m sure you don’t. But it is the media which does not allow us the option because they don’t inform us of the essential details. We blindly consume, because that is what we are told to do. They’re playing us, folks. Do your research. Open your eyes.
Just like the things we consume, there is depth lacking in the things we enjoy. From music to movies, it seems to me that everything popular these days is just so incoherently stupid. The radio is filled with music that doesn’t seem to go beyond late night club hopping and soppy love songs. When was the last time a movie came out of Hollywood that really made you sit down and question things—really made you think, really made you feel like an intellectual? Nowadays movies are all pretty effects and big explosions, appealing to humanity on such a childlike level that I almost feel like the audience should be “oohing” and “aahing” in unison like those little green aliens from Toy Story. Sure, they say they’re giving us what we want by producing such harmfully mindless material, but what if we chose to want something different? What if society made a conscious decision to reach their higher potential and only input what made them stronger, smarter people? Wouldn’t that make for such a better world? And could it possibly be, that the only reason we think we want these things is because the big companies are telling us that’s what we want? Or because that’s the only thing they allow us to know exist?
In the same way, our devices keep us at a surface level. How many times have you fallen asleep with your phone or computer awake beside you? How many interactions do you think you’ve lost due to staring at mindless junk online in your everyday life? How many moments, smiles, pretty birds, dropped dollars, bright sunsets, sweet breezes, beautiful memories, possible friendships, and opportunities do you think you have missed because you were so invested in something completely artificial? When was the last time you sat on a bus or train and simply admired the nature you passed by or the people surrounding you instead of giving all your attention to a device? The average human spends 11 hours a day on the internet, so what do you think that is doing to our brains? Is it not a kind of hypnosis that technology has put us in? Think about it. Humans now have all these new issues because of technology. For instance, the amount of dedication and addiction we have to our phones. We can’t stand not to check our phones every five minutes because what if we’re missing something? What if someone is contacting us? We’ve created these delusions like the phantom vibrate: when you think your device is vibrating and you check it in a hurry, only to discover it is not. Isn’t that a little pathetic? Typical people cannot keep up a normal conversation without an earphone in their ear, or without responding to a text message as they speak to you. And serious debates and conversations, the life-changing kind, are now often held over phone or text instead of face-to-face because it’s so much easier to be disconnected from one another. Our attachment to all things virtual and electronic has resulted in constant jitteriness in our bodies, and a complete lack of focus in our everyday lives. Mental disabilities such as ADD or ADHD didn’t become such a huge problem until technology began working it’s way into our everyday lives so-- egotistically. Everywhere you look, there are screens, or ads for the latest screen, or ads for something you can view on your screen, or things questioning why you aren’t on your screen at this very moment.
Our brainspace is now flooded by outside influences, things beyond what is natural, so much so that humans can name 100 corporations or celebrities easier than they can 100 animals or plants. We have completely separated ourselves from the real, natural world, all because of some guy who decided to attach a key to his kite. Humans have forgotten their roots and are veering on the edge of becoming a mindlessly addicted and obedient wandering mass of empty heads. Or something much worse. And I must ask if this is being done to us on purpose. Essentially: is it by design?
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-career-within-you/201403/are-social-media-making-us-stupid
Upon opening Yahoo, the first thing I see is a headline of Kim Kardashian’s dramatic new hair color change, and how much it’s apparently affected the world. But why, exactly, is Kim K so important? The media has reduced her to what is profitable. In her case: beauty, fashion sense, money, the right connections, knowing how to work the system. Our culture celebrates those whose worth doesn’t seem to go beyond the skin. We are taught that the people who are doing it right, the ones we should look up to, are the ones who flash bright smiles and big tits, who marry the man with the money. Where are the people who actually deserve to be celebrated?
I recently read about a 12-year-old girl with an IQ of 162. That’s higher than Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and Bill Gates—and she’s still in junior high, with plenty of time left to develop and grow Why do we not celebrate and worship a person such as this? The innovators, the geniuses, the scientists, artists, activists and change makers, though will be recognized by their community, are almost always excluded from media. We are practically taught to ignore those who are making a difference in this world.
In my freshman year, my class took a field trip to an event called “We Day” hosted by large corporations like Disney and Allstate, with the supposed goal of creating a healthier, happier, and more intelligent future for the children of America. Although I did not have high hopes for the integrity of this event, I was expecting something which would possibly inspire me, and others, to go out and make a difference. What I got was nothing close. From the moment we arrived, we were bombarded with advertisements. Each student was required to wear the official “We Day” shirt, which had nothing but a silly catchphrase on it and rows and rows of sponsors and supporters on the back. Corporations. The big guys.
Upon entering, were screens lit up with bright, colorful ads, expressing how much GOOD these companies were doing for the world. Moving into the event, we were shown performers like Big Sean, Selena Gomez, and a few other artists whose music’s emptiness completely drowned out any possibility of inspiration. As the lectures began, we heard Seth Rogen, Evanna Lynch, among others who, in my opinion, aren’t really doing anything for the world. But what irked me most, was this: they so graciously brought two young inventors in from Uganda, who had recently created a homemade ultrasound that women could use for free in their village. This was an amazing accomplishment. They came onstage with two Disney Channel stars, were asked three questions about their invention, and then were led offstage to be replaced by “Boo” the world’s cutest dog, who told bad jokes to us through a pre-recorded voice.
How sad is it that we so blatantly ignore and disrespect people who are making a difference, and then celebrate something as unimportant as a well-bred dog? We are given things such as “We Day”, which claim they are making a difference, to satisfy our need to pretend we’re actually righteous people. These events give us an excuse to say we're doing something, when really, all we’re doing is feeding the corporations more money. Thousands of kids in that arena, almost all of whom paid over fifty dollars to even attend, were fed more mindless garbage and brainwashing advertisements, while the companies swim in how gloriously we ate it up, as well as how much money they're making. But, you know, at least they’re spreading awareness.
Here’s an example which may be a little more recognizable to most of you: Urban Outfitters. This company was founded by a big time businessman named Richard Hayne, and is aimed to the likings of “hipster”/alternative young adults and teens. The most obvious problem with this company is its complete disregard of cultural feelings and politically correctness. Over the years, it has likely produced a product offending almost every race, religion, subject or idea. They have made everything from shirts resembling holocaust attire, a blood spattered university sweatshirt of a school victim to a shooting, a shirt reading “eat less”, a board game called “ghettopoly”, clothing and accessories condoning the use of drugs and alcohol for younger children, and many many products which have photos and artwork copied and produced without the owner’s, or artist’s, permission. As many times as this company gets in trouble, as many times as people complain and are hurt by the things this company produces, they still keep opening up more locations, expanding and profiting, because people just love shopping there.
Urban Outfitters is one of many ignorant and offensive companies who seem to never get the punishment they deserve because of the amount of money they’re able to make. Their mistakes are never published in mainstream news, perhaps because it wouldn’t interest anyone, or perhaps because the companies are keeping us from the truth so that their sales will not plummet. Once again, the big guys only have themselves in mind. What a surprise. Yet it is our responsibility as consumers to know what kind of companies we’re supporting. Do you want to give your money to a racist, insensitive and already overly-powerful individual? I’m sure you don’t. But it is the media which does not allow us the option because they don’t inform us of the essential details. We blindly consume, because that is what we are told to do. They’re playing us, folks. Do your research. Open your eyes.
Just like the things we consume, there is depth lacking in the things we enjoy. From music to movies, it seems to me that everything popular these days is just so incoherently stupid. The radio is filled with music that doesn’t seem to go beyond late night club hopping and soppy love songs. When was the last time a movie came out of Hollywood that really made you sit down and question things—really made you think, really made you feel like an intellectual? Nowadays movies are all pretty effects and big explosions, appealing to humanity on such a childlike level that I almost feel like the audience should be “oohing” and “aahing” in unison like those little green aliens from Toy Story. Sure, they say they’re giving us what we want by producing such harmfully mindless material, but what if we chose to want something different? What if society made a conscious decision to reach their higher potential and only input what made them stronger, smarter people? Wouldn’t that make for such a better world? And could it possibly be, that the only reason we think we want these things is because the big companies are telling us that’s what we want? Or because that’s the only thing they allow us to know exist?
In the same way, our devices keep us at a surface level. How many times have you fallen asleep with your phone or computer awake beside you? How many interactions do you think you’ve lost due to staring at mindless junk online in your everyday life? How many moments, smiles, pretty birds, dropped dollars, bright sunsets, sweet breezes, beautiful memories, possible friendships, and opportunities do you think you have missed because you were so invested in something completely artificial? When was the last time you sat on a bus or train and simply admired the nature you passed by or the people surrounding you instead of giving all your attention to a device? The average human spends 11 hours a day on the internet, so what do you think that is doing to our brains? Is it not a kind of hypnosis that technology has put us in? Think about it. Humans now have all these new issues because of technology. For instance, the amount of dedication and addiction we have to our phones. We can’t stand not to check our phones every five minutes because what if we’re missing something? What if someone is contacting us? We’ve created these delusions like the phantom vibrate: when you think your device is vibrating and you check it in a hurry, only to discover it is not. Isn’t that a little pathetic? Typical people cannot keep up a normal conversation without an earphone in their ear, or without responding to a text message as they speak to you. And serious debates and conversations, the life-changing kind, are now often held over phone or text instead of face-to-face because it’s so much easier to be disconnected from one another. Our attachment to all things virtual and electronic has resulted in constant jitteriness in our bodies, and a complete lack of focus in our everyday lives. Mental disabilities such as ADD or ADHD didn’t become such a huge problem until technology began working it’s way into our everyday lives so-- egotistically. Everywhere you look, there are screens, or ads for the latest screen, or ads for something you can view on your screen, or things questioning why you aren’t on your screen at this very moment.
Our brainspace is now flooded by outside influences, things beyond what is natural, so much so that humans can name 100 corporations or celebrities easier than they can 100 animals or plants. We have completely separated ourselves from the real, natural world, all because of some guy who decided to attach a key to his kite. Humans have forgotten their roots and are veering on the edge of becoming a mindlessly addicted and obedient wandering mass of empty heads. Or something much worse. And I must ask if this is being done to us on purpose. Essentially: is it by design?
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-career-within-you/201403/are-social-media-making-us-stupid
