Seeing another pixelated avatar sell for millions makes me despair for humanity. For instance, how is it possible that the infamous "Disaster Girl" sold her image in front of a burning house as an NFT for $500,000? Perhaps I’m the one who’s missing the point, and NFTs are indeed reshaping the concept of digital ownership and revolutionizing our future.

Are NFTs merely visual representations of a generation that is gradually losing its cognitive abilities? Many are isolated, avoiding real human interactions and instead glued to screens that offer an addictive escape from reality. Is this the result of an unprecedented societal bubble that hasn’t yet burst, allowing for a more authentic, nature-connected existence?

I find myself questioning how we arrived at this point and why.

NFTs: Products of Our Diminished Attention Society? Children have suffered fatal consequences from gaming marathons lasting over 40 hours, while parents have collapsed from marathon Twitch streams. The pandemic has even seen people experiencing real exhaustion from screen time, with games like PUBG becoming infamous for such occurrences.

In the 21st century, we find ourselves in a culture steeped in fear, shame, and numbness, devoid of hope or a common purpose. The objectives imposed upon us are rooted in fear, and millions now wander through life guided by leaders lacking vision or a genuine sense of community.

NFTs, akin to cryptocurrency, offer an escape. They've made ignorance fashionable and boredom appealing, as evidenced by collections like the Bored Ape Yacht Club. Is our collective ennui slowly regressing our evolution?

21st Century Digital Tribalism: A Culture of Apathy I find myself indifferent to impending ecological disasters as long as my Shiba Inu coin surges by 777% in a month, providing a fleeting sense of emotion to my dulled psyche. As long as I feel secure within my Twitter bubble of like-minded individuals—my NFT or crypto tribe—algorithms continuously feed me biased information, reinforcing my perceived normalcy.

This digital tribalism of the 21st century is a blend of extreme escapism and a quick-fix mentality. My primary concern regarding emerging tech trends is whether humanity is consciously choosing this path, or if it is being sold to us by powerful entities profiting from millions of young people entranced by their screens, devoid of genuine inspiration.

Let’s not forget how it all began with social media.

Social Media: Cesspools of Hidden Isolation Digital connections inherently lack authenticity, vulnerability, and genuine human interaction, which renders them incapable of replacing real relationships. Each month, new virtual meeting spots emerge, drawing groups of individuals seeking connection through tweets and Zoom calls. The goal often revolves around acquiring insider information about the next trending coin, NFT drop, or popular blockchain game.

These digital "clubhouses" are primarily ego-driven spaces fueled by greed, masquerading as communities with a facade of empathy. In the realm of NFTs, decentralization is frequently mistaken for an endless cycle of narcissistic digital clutter.

Let’s Address Three Core Questions I understand that, ultimately, technology will continue to serve humanity as it always has. I’m grateful for the ease and speed it brings to my life. Yet, it fails to fulfill me on a deeper, soulful level. The nostalgia of listening to a vinyl record feels more authentic than using Spotify.

However, the digitization of everything has introduced real challenges. I often find myself pondering three questions: 1. Who is creating this technology? 2. Do we genuinely need it? 3. Why aren’t we developing tech to address real-world issues?

Who Is Behind This Technology? Some argue that technology evolves autonomously while humanity passively observes. This notion is misguided. We must scrutinize who benefits financially. During the pandemic, billionaires amassed unprecedented wealth while billions became increasingly disengaged.

Big tech has grown more powerful than many governments, and we should examine their motivations. Are they not increasingly dictating our lives? Corporations focus primarily on profit, often neglecting human welfare, a situation termed “externalizing harm to the commons.” This harm manifests as addiction.

As Charles Eisenstein states, societal health can be gauged by the prevalence of addiction. Unlike the Viking explorers who faced challenges without fear, today’s individuals are confined by anxiety, scrolling through screens for financial updates while spending a significant portion of their lives staring at devices.

Our culture has devolved into one defined by fear, shame, and polarization, as acknowledged even by Facebook. Science has become a new religion, with data manipulated by corporate interests.

Do We Need This Technology? Absolutely not. Much of it is marketed to us through teams in Silicon Valley, who craft products designed to capture our attention. From the early days of Facebook, technology has waged a relentless war for our focus, utilizing AI that can hardly be countered.

Those in marketing know that the most effective sales model is to create dependency on the product. Today’s technology is precisely that; it's designed to ensnare us, offering fleeting moments of happiness while keeping us distracted and compliant.

The ultimate goal seems to be to keep us in a state of servitude, where we’re conditioned to enjoy our confinement through artificial pleasure, reminiscent of Aldous Huxley’s vision in "Brave New World."

Why Aren’t We Creating Tech for Real Solutions? The reason is straightforward: profit-driven capitalism obstructs progress. However, there are numerous examples of technology contributing positively: - Purpose-driven tokens are being utilized to track plastic waste and tree planting on the blockchain. - NFT sales are being used to fund conservation efforts for endangered rhinos. - Carbon credit tokens are gaining traction on major exchanges. - Numerous crypto projects are designed to encourage sustainable practices. - Blockchain technology is being employed to streamline food supply chains. - DoinGud: A new NFT platform that shares profits with social causes.

These examples inspire hope, but we need more than hope to combat the pervasive influence of technology on our minds.

Can Technology Spark a Human Revolution? At its core, blockchain technology was created to disrupt the dominance of parasitic middlemen, and we’re witnessing this transformation to some extent. Yet, we face a daunting wall of profit-driven incentives, exemplified by the push for global vaccinations with untested therapies.

Are we willing to surrender our bodily autonomy for the sake of more control over a hybrid humanity? The future seems to hinge on whether we can collectively resist slipping into a dopamine-induced state of digital stasis while idolizing every new invention, including NFTs, as the solution to our problems.

Ultimately, it is up to us to transform, to reconnect with our authentic selves, and to explore the innate technologies within us—such as Kundalini energy, breathwork, and pineal gland activation. A mass awakening is essential, prompting us to ask ethical questions before technology intrudes further into our lives.

There is still time to shift the tide, but it is running out as self-learning machines continue to observe.

Lucien Lecarme

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