Does anyone else remember having to defragment their old Windows PCs? For those who don't, it was a sometimes hours long process designed to free up hard drive space by re-organizing the contents of whatever storage device was being used, in order to store files in a smaller amount of space, thereby improving PC performance by increasing the efficiency of data retrieval. Phew, what a mouthful. But in layman's terms, it essentially frees up space to make the computer more efficient.
I don't know about anyone else, but sometimes my computer feels... cluttered. There are so many tabs and bookmarks and files and folders, that it is sometimes tricky and overwhelming to find the exact thing I'm looking for at any given moment. I think the same goes for the Internet as a whole at this moment. With the rise of social media and all that it entails, the digital space feels cluttered with so much extraneous noise and voices of people constantly trying to talk over each other that it can be hard to actually listen to what is being said. It's all about who can be the loudest, the most outrageous, the most knowledgeable, the most beautiful, the most whatever. And in the process, substance and meaning and worth have seemingly fallen by the wayside. That is my perspective of the Internet, at least. I can see it reflected in our society through the way people treat each other and the overall "frantic-ness" that can be tough to ignore.
In addition, it seems as though apps and extensions that are designed to combat the clutter only add more clutter. Take the Chrome extension OneTab for instance. When I first downloaded this extension, I thought, "Finally, a solution for tab hoarders like myself!" but it only ended up worsening the problem because all I have to do is click a button and suddenly all of my tabs are collapsed into, well, one tab. Until suddenly I have 5,000 tabs saved up and might (?) go back and look at them eventually, but most likely they will just sit there until my computer crashes and then the process starts all over again. But I digress.
I envision a world where technology is used with purpose and intent, where people aren't constantly vying for attention and/or money, but rather to increase the knowledge and welfare of the world at large; to help people learn how to help themselves. Everyone claims they are doing this through their posts (looking at you, "#BeKind") but it's all empty words and gestures until we take our own advice and take a step back and ask what it is we're really doing here. Rather than blindly hopping on the next trend, it would behoove one ask oneself if it adds meaning or value to one's life or to anyone else's. A civilization can only be as strong as its weakest constituents, and if you really are as kind, loving and wonderful as you claim to be, you'll recognize that the constant travel and photo ops with celebrities or big groups of friends don't actually add anything to enrich anyone else's life. No one is buying your schtick of constant travel and luxury in the name of "kindness". It's just more noise, more clutter in the digital and physical space that only adds to the confusion and chaos that has seemingly taken over our society at large.
So where do we go from here? Humanity has arguably reached its peak and entropy will continue to increase rapidly, but on the part of the individual user real change can be affected by each person becoming fully conscious and aware of the media they consume and take part of. With great freedom comes great responsibility: it is a commonly held belief that people want all of the freedom but are afraid of the responsibility that comes with it, and there is some truth to this. It's time to take back our digital and physical lives by recognizing the value of what we place our attention on. This will lessen the noise and clutter, and we will be at peace. With the increase of complexity in our society, there must also be space made for simplicity. In short, I think we all need to "defrag" our digital and physical lives, slow down, and get back to what is essential, instead of just accumulating more and more tabs.
- Rose
PS: Here are some tips that I've found to be useful when navigating content online:
When viewing posts, articles, etc:
Stop the endless scrolling and ask yourself whether this content motivates or inspires you vs. making you feel less than/depressed/angry.
What knowledge or information have you gathered from viewing the content? If nothing, chances are it's not worth your time.
When posting articles, posts, links:
Ask yourself why are you posting this? Is it to gain likes/follows? Is it to make yourself look good in front of others? Or are you genuinely offering something worthwhile to add value to the lives of others?
In what ways could your content potentially harm someone? Loneliness and alienation are now considered public health emergencies, so maybe that big group of people smiling and having fun could cause someone to feel even more depressed. Think before you post.
That's all for now!