Barack Obama on Activism

“There is this sense […] of ‘the way of me making change is to be as judgmental as possible about other people.’ […] That’s not activism, that’s not bringing about change. If all you’re doing is casting stones, you’re probably not gonna get that far. That’s easy to do.” Barack Obama

Social Media: Generation of Self-obsessed Narcissists

“[T]hese tech giants have quietly crept into our minds and rewired our brains. They have engineered a generation of self-obsessed narcissists. […] Registration might be free, but long-term use quite evidently comes at a price.” A well-written article on Highsnobiety about the world in which we live.

Stop Googling. Let’s Talk.

Well-written article in the New York Times, already more than a year old but still up-to-date as it can be: […] Studies of conversation both in the laboratory and in natural settings show that when two people are talking, the mere presence of a phone on a table between them or in the periphery of…

Douglas Rushkoff About the Retaking of Now

In this 45-minute TV show Douglas Rushkoff reflects on a world where everybody is in an always-on state, about how modern communication technology does not aim at connecting people, but at keeping the marketplace alive, about eyeball hours and the colonization of human attention, and how a zombie apocalypse might even become a more desirable…

Look Up

I love the internet. It is an essential part of my professional life as a journalist and writer, it enables me to work wherever it is available, and it makes my journeys much easier. However, I hate the omnipresence of smart phones. It keeps people away from living in the moment, and it makes people…

How Conspiracy Theories Emerge on Facebook

Chemtrails. HAARP. The Illuminati. Conspiracy theories are abound on the Internet, but they only prove one thing: that in a virtual world, people make themselves vulnerable to sketchy claims and spotty tales. A study of 2.3 Million social media users reveals how those who blame mainstream media to be an instrument of mass manipulation are…

How Facebok Makes Us Unhappy

“Our attention is, more and more frequently, forgetting the path to proper, fulfilling engagement. And in that sense, Facebook isn’t the problem. It’s the symptom.”  Based on scientific research, this interesting article explains how an overdose of social media turns the wonderful technology into poison, and how this is phenomenon represents the zeitgeist.

Generation Like

An interesting documentary about a generation that is addicted to fame: Generation Like. Douglas Rushkoff gives insights in how social media became a substantial part of self-satisfaction, how smugness fuels consumerism, how the currency of ‘likes’ turns into actual currency, and how the consumer becomes its own marketer. Generation Like is available on Frontline.  …