Everything is online, ugh!!!!

How often do you feel this way — EVERYTHING short of pissing, shitting, and eating is almost COMPLETELY online. Everything!! Ugh!!

Who is benefiting and who is losing? Examples:

Winners

• Large Tech Companies (and their large shareholders and executives), Platforms
• Very well funded producers
• People who live outside the city, rural areas
• Hateful people
• Autocrats

Losers

• City lovers - dwellers and visitors
• Most of us in some way

I was so excited back in 2006 when I moved to San Francisco from the East Bay suburbs after getting divorced. I had never lived in a city as an adult, and San Francisco had SO much to offer. In the span of a single day and evening, you could visit and experience so many different milieus, and also get in some real interesting shopping.

NOT ANYMORE!

One of the saddest experiences before I left San Francisco (for NYC) was how many times I met people visiting San Francisco for the first time who said to me, “Our dream was to visit San Francisco, and we’re really disappointed”. My response was always, “Yea, too bad you didn’t come here 10 or 15 years ago before the Internet killed it”.

NYC is still alive, but nothing like what it used to be.

WTF? Is this progress?

Yes, we certainly have made progress — it’s much easier to buy things online, broadly connect with people, etc. But how much is too much!!!?? It seems like just about EVERYTHING is online, and the world is more upside down than ever.

Shouldn’t there be people ensuring we’re in balance?? Who’s in charge over here???

Let’s take a look at some of these, and then drill a little bit into the big one:

Dating

There is almost a ZERO correlation between how you appear online and what you’re like in person. ZERO.

Let’s first look at the basic math. The chances of you matching with somebody online, if you’re not super good looking, is VERY LOW. And since there is almost ZERO correlation with what you’re really like, in the rare case where you actually meet somebody in the flesh, what are the odds that when you meet in person you’re ALSO going to even remotely be a good match for real. Almost ZERO. Because you’re basically starting from scratch, again. This is a geometric calculation!

And if you’re looking for romance and are frustrated, the two might decide out of sheer frustration to just try to make it work, at least get some sex. Oh, that’s a great way to start a romantic relationship. And in that case, at least one of the people has to hold their secret that they’re not really into the other person that much. Yuck. No wonder our society is so screwed up, so many of us are frustrated lovers, and channel our passions and sexual energy elsewhere, looking for distractions

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs baby, if you ain’t getting sex and love, you aren’t going to be able to do A LOT of other things at the top of your game.

When I moved to San Francisco and went Male-to-Female trans (after getting divorced from a woman), I wanted to check out the trans scene (i.e. to try something completely different). That was easy back in 2006, just go to the trans bar Divas, where I could meet 200–300 people in one night, all of them interested in this subculture one way or another! It was literally divine. I discovered a whole new culture, experimented with a whole new life, and discovered a whole new part of myself waiting to bust out. Every weekend the place was packed with joyful, interesting, diverse people. I met a lot of people who were visiting San Francisco and wanted to check out this colorful milieu, and many tasted the fruits too. If somebody was interested in checking out the San Francisco alternative lifestyle, they could start at the trans bar, then head over to the lipstick lesbian bar, etc. — places where people in that milieu congregated. There were no trolls, no scammers, no imposters, only a few losers — anybody who had the courage and fortitude to get their ass off the couch and take the risk to go to an edgy club was somebody you wanted to meet. There were natural filters.

What’s it like today online? It’s like looking for a fucking job! Ugh! It’s hard enough and stressful enough looking for a job, but to be BOTH looking for a job online and trying to date online, is too much. Don’t we get a break??? Where did the joy go?

And there are scammers, voyeurs, and losers everywhere. My God, you need a whole immune system to fend off the vermin! This is NOT fun!!!! Not to mention, to be exposed to this filth, to have to be reminded of the disbelief at just how evil and selfish people can be, and do this every day is soul crushing! How rare is even a modicum of a real conversation online?

The sad thing is that if you live in a rural area, or the deep suburbs, this is probably making your life better. It cures the boredom. But it’s not real. And this virus has spread to the big cities, destroying their nightlife to the point where marginal communities don’t have the critical mass to stay alive in the flesh, even in a big city like NYC! For example the following communities, still have some life left (Descending order of prevalence)

• Straight people — 20’s to mid 30's
• Gay men — younger the better
• Lesbians — 20’s to mid 30's

Other communities such as older straight people, trans, kinksters, etc have had their communities eviscerated. Especially the alternative communities. To the detriment of those not only looking to date, but also curious people looking discovering a new community for fun. And it doesn’t give the opportunity for people who might become become a bigot, to actually meet some of these people for real. It’s ALWAYS different in person, especially with a crowd that has a wide age group (like the trans bar Divas did)

Part of it is also that alternative people are accepted in the mainstream. You’re much less likely to meet somebody interested in you vs. going to a place dedicated to your milieu, because ALL of the focused meeting places are gone. Even NYC no longer has the variety. For example, NONE of the major cities that I’m aware of have trans clubs anymore (e.g. SF, LA, NYC, Las Vegas).

Winners: People living in rural and suburban areas, Platforms

Losers: Less prevalent LBGT groups, People living in and visiting cities

Mixed: Older strait people

Job Search

Always be looking. Some of us are lucky to love their job, but most of us are either casually looking or looking hard. And this goes without saying - it just sucks. Here are some of the biggest problems:

• Phantom Jobs: Many jobs aren’t even real, but recruiters put them up to either suck you for information (to try to find openings at your company), or look like they’re hiring, or they’re required to post the job, but have no intention of filling it from online sources.
• AI filtering: Just like dating there is little correlation between how you appear online and who you really are. It’s better than dating, but it’s still pretty bad. One of the biggest problems with AI, is people thinking that’s it’s working when it isn’t. The most qualified people are often indistinguishable from from the noise. I’m a cybersecurity architect, and I get a ton of job postings for things like a security guard at Burger Kings, and even a lot for network marketing. WTF!!!!
• Head Hunters have mostly disappeared: It’s worth paying a recruiter to get a really qualified candidate. They sort through the noise, speaking with people directly and matching them efficiently to their clients. But their clients are under stress to reduce recruiting costs, because, well everybody else is doing it. Often quality goes out the window, because it’s harder to measure. Many companies, will reluctantly fall back on using a recruiter if they can’t find anybody, but often they will accept somebody who isn’t very good because of the pressure to get on with it and not spend money on a recruiter. The difference between a crappy hire and an excellent hire is MASSIVE for professional jobs.

Winners: Companies that only need run-of-the mill average workers for positions that aren’t really that critical, Companies with strong networks, Platforms

Losers: Most other companies, recruiters, average person

Shopping

I went shopping for an ergonomic office chair. Couldn’t find a selection with more than 5 chairs in New York City. It’s all online. I can’t sit in a chair and try it out. Also what’s up with the pharmacy only having toothpaste that whitens your teeth — ALL of them! I don’t want the extra chemicals! This applies to many other products. Not much more say about this one.

At least a major city like NYC has a lot of interesting shopping. But the shopping experience has diminished, especially for certain types of products.

Winners: Those interested in commodities, People living in Rural areas, Platforms

Losers: Those interesting in non-commodities, People living in cities, people who start their career in retail

Promoting your craft

I find it ironic that a lot of the most successful musicians in the scene are the least talented. Why? Because they spend most of their time on social media promoting vs. the more talented ones who are busy writing music, recording, improving their craft. It has always been hard for musicians to find time to promote, but online is creating and contributed to an upside-down world, where shallow shit sells more than anything. This is exacerbated by the next item.

Winners: Those who don’t have talent or can’t play live, those who have no personality, Platforms

Losers: Those who are focused on talent and creative ideas, those who have a strong personality (because they’re fucking frustrated!!!).

Mixed: Activism — a lot of people just post online about something they care about, instead of actively finding and getting involved in a community. The powers that be love when we do this.

Entertainment

I moved to NYC because there is SO much more live entertainment than in San Francisco or other major cities. Live entertainment in San Francisco, died in the last 10 years. I used to play at Martuni’s a piano bar in San Francisco, where every time I played, the place was packed, and I would meet a ton of people from all walks of life. And it didn’t matter what day of the week it was. This was San Francisco, a vibrant, exciting city. Groups of people from the various milieus of the city would stop in every night, many tourists, business people visiting for a conference, etc.

And now?

Totally dead, except on Friday and Saturday night, where it’s mostly…drum roll…. Straight people meet market — 20’s to mid 30's

Winners: See “Promoting your craft”

Losers: See “Promoting your craft”

Meeting people

And in general meeting people out and about, especially in the night life, has been reduced significantly. Because people are spending more time online. Clubs are closing. Many are struggling.

This is a self-perpetuating problem. The more time people spend online, the more clubs close, and since there are less clubs, people spend even more time online. Even if you wanted to meet people in real life, and you made a effort to do it, at some point it’s pointless, because there just aren’t enough people around.

Winners: See “Promoting your craft”. Also those who are shy, awkward. Those who use online to find a community of their mutual interest (e.g. model trains, etc.)

Losers: See “Promoting your craft”

Politics

All the above, is just getting us primed for the big end game.

Politics has become like everybody is playing rugby in one big amorphous game with nobody following the rules (we called it “Kill the guy with the ball” in elementary school), vs. the past where it was more like watching a sports game and picking a side to cheer on….all while hoping the team owners would make the right trades. In the amorphous game of today, we’re not even sure why some people are really backing others — and in most cases, those people don’t know either!

Throughout human history, we had filters and control mechanisms to organize society — e.g. 25 years ago we only had Large Scale Media, and more Closed Primaries. Although these mechanisms restricted the narrative to one controlled by people in power, they were Controlled by KNOWN Powers who’s economic interest was largely aligned with the health of the country. They helped ensure that crazy concepts, conspiracy theories, and most importantly propaganda didn’t infect the culture like a virus, and weaken or destroy it.

Now, the narrative is Controlled by UNKNOWN Powers, many of who’s interests are NOT in alignment with the overall health of the country, for example:

• Putin, Xi Jinping, and Kim Jung Un. We know they’re involved, but we don’t know exactly how and to what extent.
• Some Tech Billionaires — e.g. Elon Musk, somebody who is NOT nearly as smart as he thinks he is, but is smart enough to manufacture stories in his head that justify him being constantly proven to be the smartest person in the world, all while working relentlessly at reducing regulations on his power, and probably taxes as well….and this results in him helping to destroy our society by supporting the autocrats.

The world is too dangerous when ANY individual holds this kind of power. Especially when it’s cloaked in irresistible and easily digestible Psychological Warfare propaganda, something that most people are not any more familiar with than any our bodies were familiar with COVID when it first appeared. No immunity, no ability for us to even recognize or detect the threat. We are in a CYBER WORLD WAR RIGHT NOW!!! Most of us just aren’t recognizing it as such. We’ve never experience this kind of mass attack.

Putin said that the only way to take down America is with social media propaganda. He’s an expert on Psychological Warfare. He knows how uneducated we are (certainly about online propaganda fueled warfare), and how our excessive ME culture and fixation on shiny objects and overly simplistic narratives can be used to manipulate us in mass. We’ve been fed a steady diet of junk TV and online candy for decades now. We ain’t got no muscle anymore, especially the one that counts.

If we elect the wrong person into power and democracy fails, who will we blame?

Well, we this time around, we won’t be able to blame our politicians anymore. The failure will be clear. Online is a perverted and inverted reality, where shallowness and hate rules. Where intelligence, curiosity, joy, discussion are not only useless, but take power and focus away from many of us. Could this be our new reality? Is reality no longer real. Are we too weak to see it and do something about it? Or can we find a balance, like using online to enhance, expand, and supplement our real life meetings and experiences. Not REPLACE it. Not only is replacing agonizing (read above), it is giving the keys to our future to a few individuals, who are smart enough to know what’s really going and have the power to do something about it. Unfortunately, the ones that do have the power are the slave masters.

Winners: Those who have less talent, Bullies, Platforms

Losers: Those who are able to lead and solve complex problems

OK, so now what

At a personal level, since I’m single, and have no children, I, like many such others, find that too much is online. All 7 of the above are largely online. If it was 4 out of 7, or even 5 out of 7, I wouldn’t complain as much. But 7 out of 7, ugh!!! Every fucking activity is a chore and feels like looking for a job. How about just 1 of them — wouldn’t it be great to have online dating just go away so people were forced to go out and find dates! Well, at least it would overall be better for those who live in the city. We need somebody to regulate this so people in cities like NYC are NOT allowed to use online dating!!

And I’m lucky, I live in New York City. I get a lot of in person interaction, a huge amount compared to most others. But when it comes to expanding what I’m doing, it’s all online. I can’t imagine how much worse it is for others. I can at least just decide to out to a piano bar, play music and enjoy meeting new people, almost anytime I want.

As far as our society, well I guess we’ll find out on election day if the United States has the capacity to handle the greatest gift that was ever given to human kind.

I find it ironic that the COVID virus was instrumental in the arrival of a worse virus — Internet Physiological Warfare Propaganda. I.e. during COVID we spent so much time online, nefarious forces starting dramatically increasing their efforts at attacking us. But with COVID, most of us who got it recovered and we developed immunity one way or another. Will that be the same with the Psychological Warfare virus?

GET READY now preparing for the possibility that Autocratic Control will quickly take over. I have good idea of what I’m going to try to get involved with. The only other choice would be to roll over and die. More on that later, but I can say that the good news is that it involves meeting real people in person, and doing quality things together. At least it will be more fun.