The Shocking Enemy We Sleep With
Ditch the screens, rediscover freedom
I just got off a call with a songwriter in L.A. through this fun networking app called The Lunchclub. You can meet people all over the country and get matched for video calls based on your industry, goals, or just to meet someone new.
After asking 90% of the questions and answering very few (I didn’t let him ask any, really), my match confirmed what I’ve been quietly observing, as far as trends go. We’re in the middle of a major culture shift towards depth, meaning, and old-fashioned in-person communing.
My conclusions have also been confirmed here on Substack, as I’m seeing more people suddenly rejecting technology, smartphones, and social media for a simpler more meaningful life. Let’s call it an analog life.
The term “analog life” refers to all aspects of human existence that take place outside and without reference to the Digital Infosphere.
This move from virtual reality to “reality reality” confirms my hypothesis that we are trending away from technology. Will we leave it altogether? Possibly, and that might take 20 years. But the angst and disillusionment is stark and clear. In the past two years, some of the population sheepishly began admitting they were addicted to their iPhones and were dopamine-dependent. I think it started with the memes of mothers scrolling on their phones in line at Starbucks with infant on hip or pantleg, desperately trying to catch their mother’s gaze.
Women are admitting they feel terrible being on Instagram. Parents are refusing to let their kids have a phone until they’re 18 due to excessive video games, bullying and child predators. We’re not only sleeping with the enemy underneath our pillow, we’re walking, talking, and purchasing with it virtually non-stop.
Some brave souls are beginning to admit out loud that technology may not be the advancement we once evangelized, but, instead, a cultural and behavioral regression. The revulsion isn’t necessarily because technology is “evil,” but because our nervous systems and brain chemistry can’t handle this overstimulated world, we’re left with anxiety, cyber-bubbles, and a false sense of security disguised as real progress. It’s changing our brain chemistry and tinkering with relationships and society at large. There is a reason people are defecting from Apple, Amazon, screens, and emails.
If you’ve ever felt as strongly as I do, but didn’t want to be singled out as pretentious or an elitist, tell your haters that it’s nothing personal, but we just weren’t built for tapping and scrolling 7 hours a day, and that blue light was making us fat and messing up our sleep. We’re becoming more ADHD, not less. We’re reading less, not more. We’re missing human connection and nature. Laughter and music. We’re tired of feeling like a zombie, a doom scroller, or a rat hitting a lever to get more crack.
So to further support my hypothesis that virtual reality is not necessarily a human advancement, here are a few sentiments from my Lunchclub chat. It’s not just me, and it’s not just you. However, I maintain that something is wrong: very wrong.
1. There is Too. Much. Information. There are Too. Many. Choices.
In particular, he was complaining about 396 guitar tracks a musician sent him. But it also shows up in the types of pizza sauce we have to choose from, the amount of ads we’re assaulted with, and even people choosing to live virtually most of their life, trying to discern what is noise and what is relevant or meaningful.
2. People MISS being in person.
Going to a concert for example (if you even effort to hear music anymore), people used to wait in line. Now people buy tickets off of Live Nation for the next concert or festival and pay $500 instead of $10.
3. Community is fractured. People don’t knock at the door anymore.
When was the last time a neighbor brought you food or just stopped by? Tell the truth: if someone randomly knocked at your door you’d think you were being served or it was the Fed-Ex guy. The pop-over is very rare unless you’re living in Venice, Italy or some other European enclave more family-centric.
4. Everything is becoming more corporatized.
Pick your poison: from streaming music or TV, to films (do they even make good films anymore that aren’t independent?), to music festivals. I learned that one company owns most of the music festivals (Live Nation). And let’s not even get started on Amazon or Blackrock who have entirely too much power.
Innovation Station
Because I’m a problem solver and always looking for new angles to confront problems, I have a plan for supporting artists, entrepreneurs, and the people they’re trying to reach - and I’m rolling out something new. If you’re curious about a new approach to all of the above problems, please follow me here and subscribe. The first salon event will be held in the Miami area this Spring with limited seats. If you’re an artist or creative and would like to make networking and dealmaking easy, while easily standing out, I’d love to talk to you. There is only room for about 30 artists/creatives and only 2-3 slots per profession (musicians, writers, painters, etc.)
Oh, and one more thing. One of his friends who Founded a successful music festival in Pennsylvania told him: Everything grass roots right now is successful. If it’s corporatized, it’s a mess.
More proof, that I’m onto something. Come join my grass-roots movement to solve all of the problems (plus a few other ones) in one fell swoop. Life doesn’t have to be isolating and hard - it can be easy, meaningful and lucrative.
Are you an adopter, artist, supporter, or creative who is looking for more impact & meaning because you’re paralyzed by what to do next or too much tech noise
Then please email me at info@thedinnerstory.com with your answers to these 4 questions to pre-qualify:
1. What do you do (area of artistry or creativity / profession)?
2. What is your biggest challenge right now in terms of visibility or financial success?
3. Share with me your greatest and most consistent successes in the last 6 months.
4. Who are you looking to meet who could solidify your success (in terms of deals, distribution, contracts, or visibility.)
The Deadline for Pre-Qualification is Feb 14th, so reach out with your answers if you’d like to be considered. I’ll connect with about 30-40% for a call to identify how or if this could help you and next steps.
