Humanity vs Technology

It's absolutely no surprise that we'd face some unique issues in our current society with the advancements in technology we've had over the last say 26 years. If you've ever wondered why life feels a little more... grey than it used to be, you are not alone. No, I am not talking about the "millennial grey" you see online, rather I speak on that feeling that just makes life feel like it's a rut, like we're stuck, and why it always feels like we're chasing something. We most certainly don't have to feel this way, we weren't created to see things in this light, and we have plenty of options.

This is coming from a guy that just thinks a little too much. I mean... that's pretty much my entire site, however this one I want to specifically call out that this is NOT intended to be "technology ruined us" type of article, but an analysis and set of theories on why we've come to learn to live the way we do.

Also - I want to give you a little bit of advice on how to navigate it. I am no self-help expert, therapist, or in any sort of profession that qualifies me to give you "science backed" proof or things to manage. I am however, a millennial who grew up and lived through all of this.

I'll just get the big hitter out of the way; YouTube, FaceBook, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, TikTok, Rumble, Slack, Discord, Twitch, and there's about a thousand more. Each one built with a purpose and intention that we've turned into these unique system to talk to each other and be more involved in the world rather than our own little bubble in our homes. It's quite an incredible technology, because before this our best bet was the invention of the cell phone - which allowed us to talk to anyone anywhere so long as we had their number.

I am actually going to introduce a structure for each section. The headers here will be the same from here on out.

What I Lived Through

I recall very early on sitting at my grandma's computer messaging people I didn't know on AOL messenger (aka AIM). As a teenager, it was invigorating, receiving positive attention (whether it was right or wrong kind morally) in a personal way. Then I got introduced to MySpace (anyone here remember that?), where you could basically create your own site about yourself, and use that as a catalyst to find and talk to people. They called people "friends" and you could even rank them on your page. It was a way to express yourself, via a customizable blog or site, and then message folks without having to be in proximity to them.

As we were all enveloped in that, YouTube exploded. Videos, and anyone could make and upload them. When I first started using it, it was mostly an entertainment platform (still kind of is), however as it grew, you could use it to learn, see more creative and humorous content, and it gave voices to people without the need for big networks.

Behind the scenes while all this was happening, another thing was being made; Facebook. Originally, my friends told me it was for "old people" to find their old pals from years ago. There was a lot less expression, and a lot more focused on posting content and messaging. It would eventually be picked up by the youth and change how we lived forever. Then we have Instagram, originally picked up by a lot of artists, especially photography. Then came Snapchat - the "erase your history" app, literally built for secrecy, and so on.

What are we challenged with?

Information and access. That's really the core problems we have with all of this, and it's not an intentional thing. You might think there's a ton more to this, and yes there is, but there's a lot more broad topics I'll hit in other tech that applies to more things.

You get information from around the world. Not just your neighborhood, city, or country, but the whole world. It's entirely stuff that doesn't really affect you, or things that might but you can't help. Don't hear what I am not saying here; there's opportunities for lots of change and positive things to happen, but for like... 99.98% of us, it's useless information. What happens is we can't handle all of it, and it creates panic and chaos in your mind.

How do we navigate this insane "online society?"

Well... your best bet is don't. Don't get me wrong here; social media allows us to connect, share, express, etc. with others in ways that folks even 30 years ago never thought we would. It's amazing. However, peering into everyone's lives and living in a spotlight you were honestly never meant to have... has turned us into attention deficit, self-centered, anxious human beings for practically nothing.

From what I've observed, there's a few types of people online, and each needs to have their own way of handling it. Instead of trying to stereotype folks, I want to focus on how it makes you feel.

• The Addict - whether it's posting or simply scrolling, you are the person that just needs to treat it like a hard drug and quit it. Drop it. Seek counseling and therapy. If you misplace your phone and your entire life falls apart... you know this is you.
• Angry/Passionate - If every time you hop online, you have something to say, or you get really frustrated, then you also need to take a break. However, unlike the addict, I think you can return if you treat it differently. Develop empathy. These aren't just random words on a screen; there are people behind them.
• Reality vs Social Media - If your entire existence revolves around photos, videos, and posting about your life, then you need to chill out a little bit and simply find things online that aren't "keeping up with the jones" type of stuff. Find a group, make connections, and be true to who you are; not who you're trying to be online vs who you are when you're offline.

There was a time where most people had the same few set of roles and jobs they could do. As we moved into manufacturing, it expanded into a whole new industry, where working with machinery was the new hip and cool thing everyone was doing. Fast forward to the late 2000's, technology exploded and anyone and everyone was looking for the sweet paycheck for coding, working with systems, or doing some sort of design for them.

What I Lived Through

So I got into technology right in 2011-2012 - where the offshore boom in the US was happening. Getting resources in India, the Philippines, or wherever the US dollar was worth a lot was all the rage. It was really tough to break through because all the entry level stuff was going overseas, and companies only wanted individuals with experience. I also got my start when nearly the entire market was Windows based, and virtualization was still all the rage; Citrix, VMware, etc.

As time moved on, companies began moving more towards Linux, because it was cheaper, however then something crazy happened; Cloud computing. AWS, GCP, and Azure gave the entire industry a whirl, and on top of that, a few years later containerization would be on the bleeding edge of advancement. Of course, now AI is coming in fast and hard, but we'll get to that later.

What are we challenged with?

Nearly everyone has some sort of job in technology nowadays, it's extremely common to find folks in the industry. However the biggest challenge in technology is simply... change. You cannot just sit, learn a few skills, become a master and live the next 50 years in peace. No, in fact, if you've stagnated for even 2-3 years, chances are, your experience becomes nullified with each passing day. I was a Windows expert for many years, and now it's practically a whisper in the void of technology that is considered "legacy."

Even further though - you fight cost and efficiency with every job. Your value is never inherent; it's earned and it expires and you have to earn it again.

Which leads to how this affects every other industry. Fast food, retail, recruiting, medical, and the list goes on, are all affected by the rapidly advancing and changing technology. Even those who are not technical must keep up with the advancements or become obsolete. This here, is what I think confuses older folks - "why can't you get a job?" or "why can't you handle the money you have?" Those are great questions, and the answer is... well it's really hard to enjoy what you have when every moment you spend enjoying your earnings means that you are destroying your future.

How do we survive in this sort of climate?

You really, truly don't have a choice. We are accelerating at speeds no one in history has ever experienced. We need to change our mindsets though as a society, because the way we've always operated is breaking down, and fast at that. It used to be that you went to school, earned a career, worked, and lived life. Now, we're faced with ever advancing technologies that simply make us struggle so much harder to succeed, more than we ever have before.

The hard truth of the matter is something older folks understand better than you think; live far below your means. Chances are, we're all fighting trying to move up in life, and we were told and given a system (us as millennials I mean) that used to work that is no longer viable. Money is no longer a 1:1 because it's so fragile and variable. Here's the thing though - if you can afford a nice house, don't right now. If you want a nice car, don't right now. If you can afford a 1 million dollar house, then buy a 500k house. If you can handle a 650$ a month car payment, find something for 400$ instead.

This sort of change, which yes, requires choices and sacrifice, will save you stress and future struggles. It's the only way we're going to get through this okay.

How often are you on your phone? There's a real good chance you own an iPhone. Every Sunday, you get a screentime alert. What does that look like? 5 hours a day? Average 10 hours a day? That's a ton of time - and that's not even including when you look at notifications, computer, tablet, e-reader, or TV screens. My guess is most of us spend the majority of our short little lives pretty much online. If you added up phone time, computer time, TV time, or anything with an electronic screen, I bet the most of you could easily say that 60-70% if not more of your time is spent there.

Look, I am no exception. I work 8+ hours a day on a screen. I am typing this on a laptop. I record music on this laptop. I watch TV with my kids. I scroll TikTok a few times a day. I constantly have YouTube videos in my ear. I get it. I don't exclude myself here. I also grew up on videos games, spending pretty much every second of my spare time on a game.

What I Lived Through

So as a child, TV was obviously huge in the 90's and early 2000's. I was always watching something. However, video games were also a thing. I lived from the Super Nintendo era and beyond - all the way up to the Wii/Xbox 360 era when I became an adult and had very little time for games anymore. As a child though, I always played games, long RPG's, gameboy, and all that jazz. It's how I connected with folks too.

Into my late teenage years though, cell phones became big and evolved as I became an adult. Computers became the normal way to operate. Streaming services took off. I existed both before and after all of that. It's been tough to keep up with all of it, but I've had no choice. I couldn't exist like the old heads, and I can't keep up with the new generation; I have to adapt to both.

What are we challenged with?

Living life on a screen creates distinct challenges with us, and I could probably write a whole series on this, but what it's done harder than anything else is destroy personal connection. Entertainment is at the palm of your hands... why do you need friends? Why go to a party or an event, when you can talk to folks through social media? Why bother going through creative endeavors, problem solving journey adventures, or anything like that when you have the info available to get past it now? Why have patience when everything is immediate? Why take it easy when everything is so fast?

... and then, 10 years go by, and it feels like you've accomplished nothing. You barely have friends, you have no social skills beyond professionalism, and you end up with an empty void that you call existence, where your soul craves something more than you can't seem to satisfy.

How do we escape this dark pit described above?

It's simple; connect with others, and make that a priority. Follow your passions. Make time for yourself. I know y'all... easier said than done, I struggle with this too.

The simple fact is that the emptiness and unfulfillment is that our human nature was built to serve something beyond ourselves. Call it faith, call it human connection, call it selflessness - whatever. That's what you're seeking. The only way that you're ever going to fill it is by being with others. Meeting in person, being social, making connections, and just existing with the world, and not away from it.

Look, being online is existing away from it. I don't care how you want to spin that argument, it just is. You aren't looking people in the face, you aren't discovering your nature, you aren't getting any benefit when it's all just noise on a screen. Not just phone calls, not just "in the office," not just sitting in a room with others, not just for the job... but for the sake of real, genuine connection. Even as dissociated as we are, and a lot of us have ADHD, Autism, OCD, or something of the sort that makes it difficult, it's still not impossible.

Go out and make real connections. That will ultimately lead you to making a difference. That difference you make will fill your soul.

Yes, I put this last because it's everyone's top of mind right now. You might ask though... why put Google with AI? Well, because it's the same idea from 20 years ago with a different spin. I may or may not have talked about this before on this site, but Google changed the game. I know, because in the early 2010's, I was one of those know-nothing kids running into the tech industry Googling my way to success and killing the competition in the process. AI is no different and I am seeing in real time, kind of stuck in between.

I want to skip ahead to get my point across.

What I Lived Through

Back in my childhood in the 90's, you had to know someone if you wanted information. You had to go find a shop if you needed help. Let's say for example my dad; he was a car mechanic. If my uncle needed help with his truck, he had two options; know someone like my dad to help, or take it to a shop. There was no other option. Fast forward to my adulthood, if I had a problem with my car, I could use Google or YouTube to fiddle my way to fixing the problem without ever needing a human besides me.

I specifically remember certain people in my life just had a wealth of information... which they actually didn't have, but it seemed like it, because they knew how to use Google. Kind of crazy to think about, but I used that same tactic; even today.

Now AI in the past couple of years is doing the same thing in a different way, which leads to my next point.

What are we challenged with?

Plainly, the degradation of problem solving skills. Even the basics. Reliance on AI to solve everything is quickly becoming the norm. In fact, often time if you need the AI to do something you can have it solve it's own problem. It's kind of insane.

People are using AI also for communication too, which is terrible for any sort of connections we had left. It's getting weird out there real fast.

When it's not weird though - it's INSANELY effective. Don't know how to fix a problem? Chat with AI and you'll figure it out. Need to learn something? No need when AI can walk you step by step through it. Now we're getting into "agentic" AI territory where you can have AI do things for you on a schedule or a command without a chat.

Remember earlier though...

We are accelerating at speeds no one in history has ever experienced.

That also comes with a unique challenge. We have little time to adapt. Every business right now sees AI as a way to save money, a way to build faster, a way to be better, with little concern for what that does to employees. People are being handed AI tools and expected to 10x their speed. They are bringing AI solutions and letting staff go.

So how do we survive when AI does everything?

One thing first; in the next 5-10 years, I predict that one of the most valuable skills that any industry is going to appreciate is problem solving, actual experience, because right now AI is doing amazing things in the hands of truly incapable people. That's going to create a deep void everywhere where AI is the only thing capable of troubleshooting what AI did. When push comes to shove, if all you did was "AI your way to success" and didn't bother to learn anything, you will be exposed. Don't be that person.

Secondly - don't be absolutely against it. Do not just reject all AI. You will become an artifact of the past quicker than you'll realize. If you're at your job and don't trust AI, then learn how to make it trustworthy. If you refuse to use it, implement into your workday somehow.

You might realize by now, I haven't mentioned art. Being a musician, and a person who has taken on many art projects, and consider myself a creative type, you might think that I fear that AI will eliminate that... but I am not. AI can make amazing pictures and art... that look AI. It makes music about as effectively as a corporation or industry plant does. It designs websites and apps that look like an AI built them. You may think "well it'll just get better" and yes, you're right, but it's limited to logic and what's already out there.

I don't think art is going anywhere. What will change however is the expectation of how fast your art can make it out there. In the next few years, I think waiting for art, albums, books, etc., will be a thing that puts you behind. You won't be able to survive on a 2-4 year album cycle, or a 4-5 year book cycle. Even without AI in the mix, the speed and attention of people has already put a strain on the creative industry. You'll need an album 1-2 times a year. You won't be able to hype and tour for 3 years on the same record, because well 30 other human bands have came in between you and your audience.

AI in technology I believe is an indicator of how it's going to exist in the world; basically you have to find a way to advance and make art faster if you expect it to be your income, or if you expect to have long time fans.

Sure, I've given you a little bit of advice on technology. I've talked about how our world is changing. I've talked about issues with things. But ultimately... you might ask for some sort of TL;DR of the whole thing... what in the world do we do?

Simple; adopt new technologies, prevent isolation, and support the people around you.

Simple, yet also challenging when we work in remote positions, we live our lives virtually, and we take all that we have for granted. If we're all isolated living in our own bubble, that bubble will pop, you'll have nothing but a free fall - and that might look physical, mental, emotional, or even spiritual. If you aren't supporting others, then you will also not be supported. If you aren't adopting to the new way of standards, then you will be left behind.

Breathe. Accept what is happening. Whatever field you're in, hold to your integrity, yet also know that AI can help. It's not compromise - it's a blessing. Use it to your advantage. Trust me, it's not inherently evil or wrong; it's how you use it. Yes, AI may eliminate your job, but there's still opportunity. There might be hard times, but you'll get through them. There may be problems with it, but what doesn't have it's downfalls?

Take a deep breath and hold. I know it's uncomfortable, but go outside. Meet up with others. Say hi, spark conversations. Talk about life and share experiences. Help those folks around you, put yourself into positions where you can actually make friends. Whether that be music, get togethers, kid playdates, whatever. One thing technology can never replace is the human touch and soul.

Exhale and realize you have more purpose than selfish desires. They may seem challenging, you may not have time, and you may feel useless, but you aren't. When you've been focusing on yourself for so long, you can develop into a bright human that helps others, even if it's just being a smile in a room of misery.

That's how we live in today's world.