Since time immemorial, I have been someone who has been attracted towards information, blame it on me or my ADHD, idk.
From reading random books in the library (Ofcourse non-fiction) to reading wikipedia on a 2 inch screen with GPRS connection on my dad’s phone to consuming hours upon hours of information through google search and then youtube, I have been a guzzler of information.
And I think this erratic abnormal consumption of information has made me what I am today, the ability to search for what I needed gave me an edge most didn’t.
I remember completing entire subjects with 100 google searches based on the index of the curriculum, and killing it in the exams, without ever stepping into a lecture hall during my college years.
This ability that I pride upon has sort of become a double edged sword lately, and algorithms have a huge role to play.
Information just about half a decade ago, was search based, I search for the infotmation I seek, information today is more in a pushed format; “Here is what we think will interest your attention”
And that leads us to a rabbt-hole of Instagram Reels, Youtube videos that start with a seaech for X and end at “Why are giraffes tall?” videos in the middle of the night.
We have lost control over information consumption, it is not based on what we seek, but more of a predictive analysis that bombards us with an unlimited supply of unintentional interestingness that is rotting our brain, time and body.
There’s no way to escape the matrix, unless you can limit the way you consume and look for content on the internet today, which often means quitting social media and all other apps that you use on a daily basis.
But, is that even a choice?
