If there was one massive revolution in global culture, particularly the cultures in wealthy, so-called first-world societies, through the COVID Project, it has been a massive uptick in average daily and weekly screen time among nearly all age groups.
With prevailing global government structures at the international and national levels corrupted by the influences of an anti-life, anti-health, illness-spreading pharmaceutical industry, citizens are pressed into adopting lifestyles that rely on smartphone use. This is by design. The social media giants, referred to in financial circles as FAANG, or Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google, all have overwhelming influence in national government legislative decision-making. This must be checked and reversed.
We cannot continuously slip into a tech-addicted lifestyle. We must collectively unite to promote industries, businesses, and business models that support healthy outdoor lifestyles. Even more importantly, we must, in unity, promote and nurture local cultures that rely on in-person, face-to-face, real-time interactions.
In Greek and Roman times, there were public spaces specifically designed for such interaction. These were referred to as the public square or town square. There is a word to describe them— agora. We must bring back the agora.
This is a simple initiative that can be achieved very quickly. Information structures are so sophisticated today that spreading the necessary ideas for this process, including design, construction, and implementation, should not be difficult. The will is required and the key support from key actors.
People should be encouraged to put down their mobile devices from time to time and not to carry a smartphone with them everywhere. This is critical for freedom of expression and disconnect from increasingly encroaching surveillance industry apparatus and AI-obsessed FAANG techies.
The answers to living a happy, wealthy, and successful life are not all found on the internet. Actual, face-to-face human interaction is important to societal health.
At the United Nations recently, global leaders have been increasingly discussing the issue of the shrinking of the civic space. It is difficult for individuals to access certain discussions because they are unable to travel to the location of the conversation or they are unable to access the location where the conversation is taking place. We have many online tools today for organizing meeting spaces in public, but there are not many physical locations purposefully built for meetings.
What is an example of a physical location purposefully built for meetings? Look no further than the Greek amphitheater and the Agora of Athens. These structures’ sole purpose is to allow people to engage with each other in a public place, with architectural elements that catalyze communication and collaboration. Some localities around the world have these structures in place, but they are typically not used for these purposes. In some instances, they are even only in place for decoration. That is just a little step of initiative and organizational effort away from being utilized for their true purpose– to facilitate human communication towards maintaining, managing, and building better societies.
Tech leaders have become oligarchs, largely by preying on citizens’ lust for more information, more money, more connection, and more convenience— which have all been neatly packaged into the smartphone. This is one of the most sophisticated technologies on the planet today.
This is not to advocate becoming a smartphone Luddite— an anti-tech banner of all things electronic. Smartphones have great use and are amazing tools for accomplishing the many daily tasks that lead to a comfortable, healthy life.
We must collectively practice purposefully disconnecting and experiencing our local communities without the smartphones. These are important technologies, but they are far from crucial to life, and we should check the obsessive, constant attachment to them.
