Internet profoundly changes human life. I read a magazine when I was a kid. It says “Everything at your fingertip.” This refers to the internet. It finally becomes truth however terrifying reality. People start to live in the matrix and feed on their own biases. Nobody sells happiness. It can’t be traded anyway.

Social app

Being social is a fundamental need for a human. We used to work together for food and raise children. It’s hard-wired to our brain and defines feelings. But we are also mammals. Mammals look for variety. Internet and social apps give us this unbelieve variety. Without working on it, we get choices. Dating apps are a great example, swiping gives you dominating feelings and infinite choices. It works, and it works like a mirage. Entrepreneurs and engineers are working so hard to provide this options to us. People design the giant machine clusters running on their algorithm which made by few’s minds. They made it easy and fun. It’s great gamification. It’s highly addictive too. Though, this is detrimental too. Tinder uses ELO algorithm to ensure you are not going to see people outside your range (score). But life isn’t like this. Life has surprises. Meeting people brings enjoyment. Flirting requires skills and practices. And someone at the door might have the answer you are looking for your development. The habit swiping destroy the joy. It’s fake.

People don’t read

We are a species feed on information. We even have thinking on computer engineering that thinks information + context = knowledge. Knowledge is also written on language. We are incredible because we read. We learn from our greatest so that we don’t make the same mistakes. In fact, all technology comes with profound researches. Those are written over the years. We would die much easier without penicillin. We wouldn’t be able to predict weather without air balloon and mathematics. We wouldn’t be able to watch Netflix without decades of technological development. Yet people don’t read. We are starting to transit from learning from text to learning from images and videoes. Reading builds knowledge structure, but videoes only conveys feelings. Reading is fundamental. No matter who you are.

Why people don’t read?

II think learning is always a complicated process. Because you have to put long hours reading a subject which you don’t know. That feels uncomfortable. Maybe many people don’t have the epiphany moment. That brings you all the joy of learning. It’s generally true that you can learn whatever you want on the internet. Knowledge is accessisble than ever, but people are lack of motivation. Yes, learning might not lead you to a perfect job. It doesn’t give you a better income. But,

Difficulty is a process of mastering your craft. – Qunicy

We might have two different perspectives in looking of the world. Let’s start with hardest one.

Developing world

If people don’t have accessible internet, our assumption doesn’t make sense. People probably live based on their instincts or follow social codes. Try to imagine people living in the 1960s.

Then comes the Chinese. Rapid growth drives technological advancement and the internet. It builds a gigantic gap between rich and poor but internet puts them together. Widely accessible information without a privacy filter is terrible. Your need grows exponentially with the new information. But not your financials. Comparison between real life and life on photos draw pain and desire. No wonder Chinese are greedy in their relationships. The idea of better life requiring money is a illusion of not acknowledge time and development.

First World problem

Living in a developed world means knowledge and books are accessible. So do the internet and smartphones. It’s much more comfortable to live in bubbles. You only need to react when your life is at stake. Thanks to widely accessible higher education and good life quality. Living in the 20s are fun. Endless choices among other young people and the internet are always fun. It also develops comfortable numb. Being able to push yourself is the way to grow. And the only way to become is to work through the pain. Many people don’t go to find that drive. They are not living.

Happiness needs work

I love Yuval’s choice of Buddhist view.

If I identify happiness with fleeting pleasant sensations and crave to experience more and more of them, I have no choice but to pursue them constantly. When I finally get them, they quickly disappear, and because the mere memory of past pleasures will not satisfy me, I have to start all over again. Even if I continue this pursuit for decades, it will never bring me any lasting achievement; on the contrary, the more I crave these pleasant sensations, the more stressed and dissatisfied I will become. To attain real happiness, humans need to slow down the pursuit of pleasant sensations, not accelerate it.

Just like concrete work, it requires constant tweaking and coping. Life applies.