Last October,
made an observation that has stuck with me ever since. He noted that movies and TV shows today tend to be set before 2007—before the iPhone—because visual media after the smartphone would be incredibly dull. He points out that we watch TV to see what it is like not to watch TV or doomscroll a smartphone. I will link his essay at the bottom. It is one of my favorite Substack reads ever.That observation stuck with me, gnawing at the back of my mind ever since.
And it is true. What movies and TV shows have come out recently that are set post-2007? Most of what comes out these days is slop, anyway. The few good pieces of visual media are set further back in time. Better Call Saul was set before Breaking Bad, for goodness' sake. Set today, Saul Goodman would have just abused ChatGPT and RAG systems to get ahead, and that would be pretty uninteresting to watch.
There is one solid show coming out right now: Severance. The core premise of Severance is that workers get a brain chip implanted in them that severs their work memories from their outside memories. They wake up at work without memories, and their entire life is at work. When they leave work, they have no memory of ever working and only get to work and go from work.
Seeing Severance in light of Egg Report’s observation grants an absurd realization.
What it takes to make an interesting TV show about the modern day is sci-fi technology that cuts people’s brains off from the knowledge that smartphones exist.
The office's technology is quite old. Televisions are on roller carts, and computer monitors are big boxes. Technology-wise, they go back in time because an engaging narrative with a compelling mystery is impossible to write today. Any mystery could be solved with a web search or a series of questions to ChatGPT. I am being hyperbolic, but the old-style technology is a poignant symbol.
It symbolizes how the intrusion of digital technology has wrecked the narration of life and replaced it with pseudo-narration. The narration that constitutes you, your life story, is second behind the narrative on your Instagram page, X profile, and LinkedIn history. As you construct this hyperreal identity narrative, you rapidly consume everyone else’s—hypersonic doomscrolling.
Substack’s quarter in review for the summer of 2023 told me how many miles I scrolled down the notes section. Since then, I have programmed and installed an extension that turns off the notes section.
Byung-Chul Han likens the experience of going from app to app on the smartphone and scrolling to praying the rosary. He is definitely onto something with this analogy. Our devotion to smartphones is religious, but not in the way that going to church is spiritual. It is spiritual in the way that a heroin addict will religiously show up to get more heroin.
The smartphone is addictive. The smartphone is so addictive that it becomes a part of you. The smartphone is more a part of you than a literal brain chip would be if you installed it in your head. A brain chip can be removed with surgery. The psychic attachments to the smartphone are not so easy to sever. The smartphone is kind of like a god in that way. Omnipresent. Much like an extreme drug addiction.
One of the primary settings for Infinite Jest is a halfway house for the rehabilitation of drug addicts. Gately, a former addict, burglar, and resident turned house supervisor, reflects on the journey out of addiction. He tells new members about the leap of faith they must take to escape their addiction and how they need to follow the guidelines of AA, even if they do not make sense, because they work. Throughout Wallace’s discussion of addiction, it is hard not to notice how the drugs discussion connects to the underlying themes about entertainment.
Throughout IJ, two intelligence agents, one American and the other French Canadian, discuss “the Entertainment,” a piece of visual media so pleasurable to watch that the viewer goes into a catatonic state, helplessly watching until they die. It is the addiction to beat all addictions. It is the pleasure nerve stimulator wrapped in content.
It is also the economically optimal outcome for all social media, streaming platforms, and content producers. Social media companies constantly collect metrics on user likes, dislikes, and, most importantly, what keeps them engaged for the longest. Optimal algorithms would keep the user on until they meet some physical boundary, preventing them from continuing the doomscroll.
Social media, digital content, etc., are our most addictive drugs. They may seem benign at the moment, and it may seem odd to compare smartphones to hard drug addictions that destroy a human life. But smartphone addiction is much like one of the most insidious addictions in Wallace’s book: marijuana. Many narcotics addicts scoff at pot addicts, but Wallace was well acquainted with the slow and methodical way marijuana puts on a benign display yet completely hollows out your insides.
A person tells a stoner that marijuana is addictive. The stoner responds with the typical text dump of cope. The person responds with the full text of Infinite Jest.
“The Entertainment” puts on an even more harmless display. It seems like just any other video content before placing the cartridge into a cartridge reader. Once it is in, though, it is too late. Because it is too good, it is so good that someone who consumes it will consume it until they die, and if they are forcibly stopped, they will never want anything again. It is a lobotomy through pleasure. It is the most dangerous kind of control: giving you what you think you want.
Critiques of capitalist alienation, etc., aside, the characters in Severance are interesting because they are doing stuff. They are not doomscrolling all the time. The severing of their minds is like a reverse auto-amputation, as McLuhan describes it. Auto-amputation is when human functions are outsourced to technology. Whatever functions the workers have outsourced to their phones and televisions, they regain once they enter their workplace.
Choosing to act is challenging. Acting without a choice is easy. When you have no alternative, difficulty—which measures discomfort and strain on the will—disappears. Difficulty only arises when there are options. Something may be physically demanding; for instance, moving large rocks without any say in the matter will still exert strain on your muscles. However, this differs from a strain on your will.
Few situations exist where only one choice is available. In life-threatening circumstances, such as when a loved one requires immediate assistance, or in the critical seconds surrounding a high-speed car crash where options are few, almost only one choice exists due to the high stakes involved. Yet, the intensity is not as profound in most situations, and many decisions are present. Our will often defaults to the easiest or most comfortable option. Much strain is involved in consciously choosing a more difficult path.
With smartphones and social media, billions of dollars are invested in creating a seamlessly efficient experience that activates our will as little as possible. This simplicity is appealing because it requires less effort. However, it is not necessarily beneficial. In many cases, it is detrimental, as there are far better things we could be doing.
To tackle challenging tasks, you must "burn the boats." In 1519, Cortés instructed his fellow conquistadors to set fire to their ships upon reaching Mexico. This tactic aimed to make conquering a foreign land easier by removing the option to retreat home to family and friends, which was the easier path.
Thinking is one of the most challenging endeavors, yet it is also among the most rewarding and enjoyable. Distractions hinder your ability to think deeply; you need to allow your mind to settle into contemplation. Novel sensory experiences become more profound, making thinking harder at first, but it becomes easier once your mind transitions into a contemplative state. Minimize novel distractions; calming light, quiet, and repetitive music won’t interfere, nor will soothing scents, but phones and computers are filled with distractions.
I have come to appreciate long drives because I seldom think as clearly as I do on a long stretch of open highway. The scenery and sounds remain consistent, and I will not check my phone.
However, even if these opportunities are absent, you should create them. You can set aside time to think without distractions, which can be some of the most rewarding time you spend despite being one of the most challenging tasks. Your mind possesses a wealth of experiences to reflect on, but you may be wasting precious time on platforms like X, Netflix, TikTok, or even by reading excessively.
About two weeks ago, I decided to give up my phone as much as possible. This is how I burned my boats, so I decided to stop making excuses. I would have liked to dispose of it entirely, but my wife pointed out that there may be emergencies where a phone would be necessary.
I keep my phone powered off in my backpack throughout the day, only turning it on when I'm driving (in case of an accident, which also provides the bonus of music or podcasts)1 or when I need a verification text to log into an account. Aside from that, I have been phone-free. I've eliminated most digital content consumption from my daily life. I disabled the notes feed from Substack, the YouTube feed, and most X features, except for direct messaging.
The result has been some of the most productive time of my life, and rest time feels genuinely restful. Staring at the wall and getting lost in your thoughts can be fun and entertaining. When you give yourself the space to reflect on things and develop new ideas, they will start coming! Thinking itself becomes addictive because you are not just finding new reflections but instead coming up with them yourself.
A thought gained through patient and focused contemplation is a priceless treasure. This treasure is almost always within reach and, paradoxically, one of the rarest forms of wisdom.
The post mentioned at the beginning of the essay:
These forms of content are cooler because they lack visual stimulation, but music and podcasts can also be overconsumed.
Any fiction I’ve written, here or elsewhere, is devoid of smartphones. A smartphone-using people are not just incapable of taking self improving action, they are incapable of taking any action. Most stories begin with the main character’s routine being interrupted, thrusting them into the conflict, giving them agency. A smartphone user never shows up in fiction because the user inherently lacks agency. Excellent essay.
The smartphone effectively cuts us off from the past, which is a world where no one lives like we do.
I've tried to imagine a remake of Dial M for Murder with smartphones and it just doesn't work. A world with watches that need winding, phone booths that are occupied, etc. Surveillance cameras, computerized door locks. A key component (no pun) in the scheme is "The front door is never locked." London, 1948, no outside door lock at rich people's apartment house. Think of all the TV and movie plots that assume no one has a phone, or that someone has no cash.